The Great Toad Sage of Brockton Bay
by green eyed typhoon
Summary: Taylor Hebert triggers with a very odd, if useful, set of powers. With the ability to summon the Toads of Mount Myoboku she enters the cape scene with both the aspirations to be a hero and the backing of a family. Based on the previous Toad summoners, she has a lot to live up too. Best get started….
1. Family 1-1

The Great Toad Sage of Brockton Bay

Summary: Taylor Hebert triggers with a very odd if useful set of powers. With the ability to summon the Toads of Mount Myoboku she enters the cape scene with both the aspirations to be a hero and the backing of a family. Based on the previous Toad summoners, she has a lot to live up too. Best get started….

Notes – Okay first things first. No chakra. I got the idea for this story from a similar one where Taylor triggered with Pain's paths without chakra. This is similar in that Taylor gets an ability from Naruto without chakra, just a different ability obviously.

Next – Writing a fiction story. I'm extremely new to this. Give me an essay or lab report etc… and I'm almost guaranteed an A in university…. Fiction? Not really similar at all. So I'll accept all constructive criticism and answer the questions that I can. Ask/Say what you will just try and be kind about it. It's my first time after all.

Now without further sidetracking….. Let's kick it off

* * *

Family 1.1

It had been four months since everything changed drastically. Since the advent of her powers. She'd learned later from the PHO that what she'd gone through actually had a name, Trigger Event. She'd known peripherally that powers generally came after some horrible event but not the name. It seemed like too small a name for the reality of what had happened…

Taylor shook her head. Not really a road she wanted to go down right now… or ever really. Suppressing the shiver of disgust and other horrible emotions that threatened to creep up and overwhelm her she directed her thoughts towards a more pleasant subject.

Her powers.

Gazing down, her eyes focused on the tattoo that had become emblazoned on her forearm. It was the only physical sign she'd gained powers. A sprawling mess of barely legible symbols in some archaic and vaguely Asian language she'd never seen before colored in a bright red. It curled around the inside of her forearm in a rough spiral with a highly stylistic tribal design of what she knew now to be a toad.

Given the earful she'd gotten when she accidentally called one of her summons a frog, Taylor doubted that she would ever confuse the two again.

It looked kind of cool she supposed. Though, not necessarily something she would have picked herself. The thought of her father's reaction to seeing his teenage daughter with a tattoo caused the girl to shake her head. The image was a strange mix of amusing and depressing. A soft laugh strangled midway into a sigh broke the contemplative silence. Truthfully, Taylor imagined he'd be shocked more than anything. At least at first. No, she'd have to be careful. Lying to her father wasn't something she was practiced in, and it made her feel uncomfortable. But the alternative… no, she reaffirmed to herself. She'd just have to be careful.

Toads.

That was her power in effect. The ability to summon toads of varying sizes. It certainly gave the tattoo a bit of context if nothing else.

Not a particularly noteworthy power aside from its oddity. At least not until one considered that the toads she was able to summon got as tall as 30-40 feet in size and had access to their own cape powers.

Oh and lest she forget to mention they were also freaking ninja toads? Taylor could still barely believe that part herself.

Well, viewed in that light, her power was still odd. But it was also very versatile and potentially incredibly powerful.

Her power got even stranger though. Because instead of projections like she'd initially thought they were, it turned out her power had another surprise in store for her. These toads weren't just a manifestation of her power, and her power wasn't to simply create projections. Rather, she summoned real, living, intelligent creatures from another dimension.

It sounded insane even within the privacy of her thoughts and the benefit of firsthand experience. She knew powers could be incredibly strange at times. There were examples in her own city even of some incredibly out there powers. Newter and Gregor from Faultline's crew or Night from the Nazi faction, the E88 just to name a few. Her research into the local cape scene had become a lot less casual of late now that it was likely going to be so important for her day to day life with her powers.

But summoning a race of intelligent ninja toads from another dimension was a bit beyond the pale. She probably still wouldn't have believed it if the first toad she'd summoned, the one she'd named her main battle partner; which was apparently a somewhat important title within the Toad clan, hadn't summoned her back to the mountain he called home so that the family could meet their new summoner.

Thinking back to that visit brought a smile to the thin brunettes face. Taylor maintained that Mount Myoboku was the single most beautiful place she'd ever seen in her life.

The brunette cast her thoughts back to her first meeting with her partner and the meeting she'd had with his family. She wouldn't change a damn thing.

Because while her powers might be insane, they'd given her something she'd been yearning for since the death of her mother and betrayal of her former best friend. With her dad drifting after her mother's death, and her own descent into numbness and apathy from the constant bullying. It had been what felt like an eternity since she'd felt like she'd had people, well toads in this case, that she could rely on. Truthfully she'd sort of given up on the idea as a bit of a lost cause. It had been easier that way. To see loneliness as an inevitability. Something to be endured rather than railed against.

But it hadn't been. Thanks to her power, she now had something that nothing could steal from her. Not Emma or Sophia and their flock of cruel and inane followers. Not the cesspit of failure and decay that was Winslow High School. Not even Brockton Bay, cape gangland capital of the East Coast. A city that she'd loved and hated in equal measure. None of it could touch the real gift her powers had given her. Friends that she could have faith in.

Taylor felt a wide grin stretch across her lips behind her mask as she gazed out at the sunset over Brockton Bay.

She shook her head.

Enough reminiscing. It was time for action.

Bringing her hands up in front of her chest she felt them flicker through the strange signs that seemed necessary to direct her energy to summon. She finished at an impressive speed before stopping as her hand molded into the last symbol of the chain.

Grin never leaving her face, Taylor slammed her hand onto the roof. A large burst of smoke erupted from the point of contact and she was briefly hidden from sight.

Hidden in the smoke, Taylor felt herself rise off the ground. The surface she'd been standing on changed from the cement of the roof to the tough hide of her summoned toad.

Somehow, impossibly, her grin stretched even wider.

She was going to do it.

Taylor Hebert was going to be a hero.

Now if only she could make her partner stop calling her "Little Sis".


	2. Family 1-2

Family 1.2

Four Months Ago

Taylor stared blankly at the creature that had appeared out of the smoke unsure of what to think exactly.

Aside from the obvious of what the actual fuck?

Because what did one say when faced with a bright orange frog standing at what she guessed was slightly over 6 feet in height? A frog that was wearing an open black coat with purple markings on its body and a huge knife sheathed at its side.

The fact that wasn't doing anything but staring at her in what looked almost like confusion wasn't at all helpful.

Taylor screwed up her courage and came to the decision it was probably best to open up some dialogue. Something intelligible that would hopefully not irritate the giant frog with the equally giant knife.

Doing her best not to stutter Taylor blurted the first thing that she could think of.

"Excuse me, giant frog? Please don't smoke in my house."

Because yeah, on top of everything else the giant blade-wielding frog with clothes was smoking a slightly oversized cigarette.

That got a reaction.

"FROG!" The creature bellowed.

Taylor would have been more surprised at the fact that it could speak if she wasn't justifiably distracted by how angry it appeared.

"Who the hell are you calling a frog?" The orange creature continued clearly irritated. "And where the hell am I?" He, and it was definitely he based on its voice, demanded, looking around the bedroom it currently occupied.

Faced with the anger of a giant and apparently intelligent blade-wielding amphibian, Taylor felt she could be forgiven for what she said next. Because while not really the smartest response… well, the shock was definitely a factor.

"Is that a Brooklyn accent?"

Taylor winced. Great, two for two on saying something both stupid and possibly suicidal to a giant frog. Not a good day for Taylor Hebert. Not that most were she supposed bitterly.

Thankfully for all potential victims of toad assault involved, the random question seemed to shift the creature from a state of anger to confusion judging by its expression.

"What's a Brooklyn" he responded after a lengthy pause.

Taylor mentally shook herself and did her best to focus. If she wanted to figure out what the hell was going on, and not anger the large and probably dangerous thing in front of her she'd need her wits about her.

Brooklyn accent?

What the hell was she thinking?

Taking a deep breath to center herself, Taylor did her best to make sure her voice remained steady and calm as she spoke to the creature who had spent the time she'd been composing herself analyzing her in return.

"I'm sorry I called you a frog." She was both relieved and thankful to note she'd mostly succeeded in keeping her voice level.

"I was just surprised, you appeared out of nowhere and I've never seen something like you before," she continued.

The orange creature gazed at her levelly. The dark purple markings around its yellow eyes almost made them seem to glow giving his stare a weight she could almost physically feel.

She wasn't sure how long it kept its gaze on her, but she did her best not to react. It did, however, make her supremely aware of her ratty, ill-fitting hoodie and ripped baggy jeans.

Seemingly coming to a conclusion, the creature sighed and took a deep drag of its cigarette.

"First, I am not a frog. I'll forgive you this time since this is your first time summoning one of us, but know that the Toads take great insult at being called a frog."

Taylor stared at the giant creature, toad she supposed, and noted that it definitely had a Brooklyn accent.

She did her best to put that thought out of her mind for now. Distractions were hardly what she needed at the moment.

The way he spoke, it implied there were more than just him. Were they Toads as well? Or were they all animals?

Wait, summoned.

"I summoned you?" Taylor found herself asking.

Was that what she'd done? Ever since she'd woken up at the hospital she'd felt an energy within herself. Her body twitching as it tried to carry out some instinctive action which caused the energy within herself to move for lack of a better word. She'd forced herself to stop though.

Some instinct within warning her that doing whatever it was her body wanted her to do in the middle of a hospital room would be unwise. It wasn't easy, though, as soon as she was distracted she'd find her hands pulling together in front of herself as though magnetized. It was all she could do to hold it off when she'd finally gotten home and mumbled something to her dad about needing to rest.

When she finally got to her room she'd stopped fighting the urge. Her hands, almost of their own volition, flew together and formed odd shapes that chained into one another before stopping. She had known instinctively what to do at that point and placed her hand on the floor.

Her power? Energy? Whatever it was had gathered in her palm after she had completed the hand signs, chambered and ready for release. And when she'd come in contact with the surface of her floor it had unleashed, leaving her body in a rush that had made her dizzy. Black symbols had spiraled out from her palm on her floor before glowing red and erupting with smoke.

The same smoke the Toad had appeared from.

She'd summoned him? Did that make her a cape?

Taylor looked from her hand that she'd been staring at without realizing, back to the toad. It was looking back at her with amusement. It seemed to be enjoying watching her connect the dots. Taylor frowned in irritation despite herself, a flush creeping up the back of her neck.

It suddenly laughed aloud. Taylor found herself startled at how human it sounded.

"You think I wouldn't know my own summoner? What do you take me for, a tadpole?"

Taylor had no response to that, watching as the orange toad continued laughing. Slowly the tension in her body eased and she found herself surprised at how stiff she'd been since the toad had appeared. It made sense though, this was about as far out of the ordinary as you could get.

Bolstered by it's good mood, she felt safe enough to ask another question of the alien creature sharing her bedroom.

"You said Toads. Does that mean there are more of you?"

The Toad raised an eyebrow… no, she supposed it was an eye ridge. There was no hair after all.

"You didn't know you were going to summon me?" It seemed bemused at the idea.

"Generally, when we get a new summoner, it's pretty big news. I thought it was odd that I hadn't heard before you summoned me… Are you saying you didn't sign the contract?"

"Contract?" Taylor echoed in confusion.

Her confusion seemed to in turn make the orange toad even more befuddled.

It scratched the back of its head muttering to itself though she couldn't understand the language. Was that Japanese? Something Eastern sounding at least. She wasn't confident enough to say, but it definitely wasn't English.

Finally, it seemed to reach a conclusion and looked back to her. Was it rude to call the toad an it she wondered? The toad spoke, interrupting her straying thoughts.

"Hey kid, what's your name?"

"Taylor. Taylor Hebert." She did her best to hide how the serious atmosphere the toad exuded made her increasingly nervous.

"Taylor huh? Weird. Anyways, names Gamakichi, nice to meetchya," it said with a small smile.

Gamakichi? And Taylor was weird? Suppressing her indignation she nodded back in acknowledgment.

Taking another drag of his cigarette the toad, Gamakichi she reminded herself, seemed to come to some sort of decision before looking at her and speaking.

"Alright, so you haven't signed the Toad contract. Also, would I be wrong in assuming you're not really sure what's going on?"

Taylor had a feeling he wasn't talking about her recent realization that she was a cape and so nodded in response wanting him to finish his thoughts.

Gamakichi nodded back unsurprised. "Okay," he spoke slowly, "this is a bit above my pay grade. We have to talk to my dad and the elder toads to figure out what's going on. Is that okay?"

His previous confusion at the situation seemed to fade as he decided on a course of action.

More toads? Also, he had a father? She wasn't sure why that shocked her. The toad in front of her was obviously intelligent but whoever heard of someone's cape power having a family?

Still, she wanted answers, and if doing this would help her figure out what was going on with her powers. Then she would speak with these toads.

Firming herself and straightening her shoulders Taylor raised her head and looked the toad in the eyes for the first time since he'd been summoned. She did her best not to project any of the fear or uncertainty she was feeling, only the confidence that she was making the right choice.

Taylor had always been good at lying to herself.

The toad seemed to find it acceptable, however, if the approving grunt was anything to go by.

"You got iron in you kid."

The toad let out a big smile that seemed to be aimed at reassuring her as he placed a large hand on her shoulder. It was surprisingly warm and not at all slimy.

"Alright. Here we go. Be honored, you're one of the only humans to ever set foot in our home you know?"

Wait… what?

They were enveloped in a poof of smoke when it dissipated it revealed an empty bedroom. Neither the girl nor the toad was anywhere to be seen.


	3. Family 1-3

Family 1.3

Coughing, Taylor waved her arms frantically trying to dispel the smoke that she was coming to link with a summoning.

What did Gamakichi say? They were going to his home?

Looking around wildly, orient herself through the thinning smoke. She couldn't see but already she knew with an utter certainty that they were no longer in her room.

"Gamakichi! Where the hell did you… take me?" Her frantic shout stalled mid-sentence as the smoke finally dissipated enough to allow the neophyte summoner to take in her surroundings.

She found herself momentarily speechless.

It was the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen. The sky was a majestic azure, interrupted intermittently by wisps of cloud and the beaming sunlight. Truly massive foliage colored a deep verdant green. She'd never seen anything like it anywhere in Brockton. She could hear the rushing waves of a waterfall in the distance as they crashed against the rocks.

Spinning in a circle with wide eyes in a desperate attempt to take it all in she was met with a truly massive mountain. It was epic in scale and dotted with trees across its entire surface. The colossal feature dominated the surroundings, the mighty stone piercing the surrounding forest and reaching towards the sky, tall enough that it almost seemed like it could grasp the sun if it so chose. It lent an air of unyielding and uncompromising strength and pride to the otherwise serene and enchanting nature.

Taylor hadn't realized she was holding her breath until she let it out with a whoosh at the sight of the mountain.

Gasping in a bid to reclaim lost oxygen, she almost choked in surprise as she breathed in the purest air she'd ever experienced. She couldn't describe it with words, but she felt revitalized with each subsequent breath.

Aches that had persisted from the locker eased. The dull headache that had lingered, throbbing behind her right eye since she'd woken up in the hospital lessened. She even felt more energized. As if she could run a mile, when earlier that day she'd struggled to find the motivation to get up and go to the bathroom. For the first time in a long time, Taylor felt like she could truly breathe.

Loud laughter to her left interrupted her musings. Taylor jumped slightly, startled at the sound. She found herself looking over at Gamakichi who seemed a combination of amused and exceedingly proud of her reaction to his home.

"It's really something isn't it, hey kid?"

Taylor couldn't work up any indignation at being called kid simply nodding slowly in agreement. Gamakichi wasn't wrong after all. It really was something, even if that was hardly an adequate description for the veritable paradise she'd somehow managed to find herself in.

The orange toad let out another hearty laugh eyes alight with pride at the effect his sacred home had on the young human.

"Alright then, better hop on"

…

What.

Taylor looked at the toad to make sure she'd heard correctly. The toad merely looked back at her expectantly.

Apparently, she had.

"You want me to ride you?"

Taylor couldn't contain the doubt in her voice. She didn't really try too truthfully.

First of all, it was embarrassing, she could walk after all. But secondly, and by far to Taylor the most important point, was that frog or toad, they shared something in common. They both hopped.

Gamakichi was maybe a little over 6 feet in height. It didn't take a genius to realize that a hop from a creature like him would be absolutely massive when compared to a normal toad. Riding on him while that occurred. Well, it didn't seem wise. She'd just left the hospital earlier that day and was in no way looking to go back anytime soon.

He seemed to understand her worries given the way he was snickering at her.

"Don't worry" he assured the cautious, and now slightly irritated girl after he got his laughter under control, "it's a lot easier than it seems. Our summoners ride on our backs for travel or during fights" he explained as he stubbed out his finished cigarette. "Besides," he said with a grin, "do you really wanna walk to the top of the mountain?"

Mechanically she turned her gaze back up to the massive mountain.

Taylor would ride the toad.

Awkwardly making her way up his back, continuing when he nodded in assent at her hesitance she clambered into a kneeling position. It was much less precarious than she would have thought it'd be.

"Great! Now let's go" and with a powerful leap, Gamakichi soared.

It was all Taylor could do to strangle a scream at the quick lift off. By the second leap, she'd manage to stifle it completely. By the fifth leap, she surprised herself by laughing.

Gamakichi grinned in satisfaction as he heard his new summoner's laughter ring across the valley of Mount Myoboku. Grunting slightly as he executed an especially high jump eliciting a startled gasp from the rail-thin girl. He hadn't known her long, but he could tell it had been a while since she'd laughed. A familiar smugness filled him. Toads were the best.

Taylor couldn't think of the last time she'd had so much fun. The last time she'd felt safe enough to laugh so freely.

She did her best not to dwell on how depressing it was that it'd taken her being summoned to some sort of different… world, or dimension? Whatever this was for her to feel at peace enough to let herself go like this. She hadn't laughed like this since before her mother had died.

It was hard to describe, the newest summoner mused as the made their way up the mountain with incredible speed. She'd seen posts of flying capes on the PHO as they answered questions on what it was like to fly. A sense of complete freedom of movement. Alternatively freeing and almost zen when leaving the world far behind them on the ground. And exhilarating as they performed some aerial maneuver. The capes who answered such questions often struggled to describe it. A common theme, however, was the feeling of absolute freedom.

Toad travel was nothing like that. It wasn't freeing because it wasn't Taylor making the movement. It was an exercise of complete trust, her fate was in the hands of Gamakichi. The toad she'd known for barely an hour. The thought alone should have caused Taylor to balk. She hadn't been given much of a reason to trust anyone lately. Quite the opposite in fact.

Nonetheless, Taylor felt herself trusting the orange toad whom she'd summoned. Maybe it was because she'd summoned it with her power. Because his existence was the ultimate proof that she was, in fact, a cape. That something worthwhile had come out of the worst day of her life. Maybe she was simply desperate. She didn't know really, but the normally cautious girl decided to go with it. For the first time since Emma, she decided to trust someone.

She felt her heart leap to her throat. Taylor couldn't decide if that was from that thought or if it was from reaching the apex of another giant leap. That was another way this differed entirely from flying, or at least as described on the PHO. There was absolutely no sense of control in her movement. After Gamakichi leaped through the air they were both subject to gravity. They couldn't change direction in mid-air the same way someone like Aegis or Laserdream might.

It was absolutely incredible.

They were really moving at an intense speed. Even for his size, it was unreal how much ground the powerful jumps from the giant toad ate up. They were almost a quarter of the way up the mountain already. Taylor found herself struggling not to gape like an oaf as she was finally able to overcome the effects of their travel method and take in her surroundings. There were toads everywhere.

They varied in size from slightly larger than a regular toad to even larger than Gamakichi. They were all different colors as well. Purples, reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, and more. Most adorned with weapons of some sort gazing back at her in equal surprise. From what little she could see of their expressions as they whipped past none of them had any negative expression. They seemed mostly surprised and curious.

Some were even welcoming.

Taylor found herself waving bemusedly back at what appeared to be a dark green baby toad with yellow markings sitting on top of its much larger parent's? head.

Was this really her life?

It felt like a dream. Or maybe a bad trip given the absolute strangeness of the events from the past half hour.

Taylor jolted as she realized that Gamakichi was talking to her. They were about halfway up the mountain now and he was explaining who they were meeting.

Apparently, his father was the "Boss Toad" going by the name of Gamabunta. He cheerfully assured the smaller girl that he was a bit of a grump but was generally a softie when it came to the clan and their summoners. Though, he was quick to assure her he was also a mighty warrior. She noted he seemed incredibly proud of his father.

If he was proud of his father then he was exceedingly respectful as he talked about the elder toads. Fukusaku and his wife Shima. Taylor did her best to absorb the fact that these toads apparently married as he explained that they were honored elders and both incredibly powerful and wise.

"Wait, over eight hundred years old?" Taylor couldn't hide her disbelief.

"Yep, they're some of the oldest and wisest summons around" Gamakichi boasted.

Shaking her head incredulously, she did her best to ignore that and focus on what he was saying. Apparently, they would be her best shot to help figure out what was going on. How she was their summoner without having signed a contract.

Taylor still wasn't sure what a bit of legalese had to do with her cape power or toads but she deferred to Gamakichi's experience when it came to all of this strangeness.

They would also decide on her future as their summoner.

Taylor felt trepidation rise with that knowledge. Could they make it so that she wasn't their summoner anymore?

They couldn't, this was her power right?

She couldn't be sure, but if anything was clear out of this it was that her power was very unusual. She couldn't rule out the possibility that these Toads could somehow stop her from accessing her power. The thought had her frightened her more than anything else that happened today. The possibility of discovering her power only to have it taken away. It would be awful.

The prospective summoner was shaken out of her worrying as Gamakichi stopped moving.

Ejected from her thoughts, Taylor looked around and realized they were near the top of the mountain. How had she missed it? The air was definitely thinner up here.

She got off the toad stiffly, legs having fallen asleep at some point during the ride as she stared at the gigantic hole in the mountain. Were they meeting the toads in a cave?

She jolted as she realized that Gamakichi had gone ahead of her. Running after the toad, she followed him into the cave. Taylor did her best to focus and pay attention to what was happening, chiding herself for getting lost in her thoughts. She wasn't normally so flaky. Taylor wasn't exactly sure what was going on but some instinct made her certain that there was no room for error with whatever was going to happen next. She would have time for reflection after she got her answers.

Calling it a cave she quickly realized as she walked behind Gamakichi was something of a disservice. Hundreds, maybe thousands of torches lined the walls of the inside of the mountain showing just how large the area was. The dim light stretched farther than she could see. It was like half of the massive mountain was hollow. There were natural springs in which toads were bathing and ramps that lead up or down to different levels in the mountain. She stumbled into a stop as a hoard of regular sized toads scrambled across the path she was walking, croaking and shouting in a chaotic joyful maelstrom of movement and noise. Taylor lengthened her stride to catch up to Gamakichi who hadn't given the smaller toads a second thought as he continued, his purposeful movements assuring her that they weren't about to get lost. She suspected that she could explore this place for a week and not see all there was to offer.

The only thing she could compare it to was when her mother had read The Hobbit to her as a child. It was like seeing the home of the dwarves. The mighty halls of Erebor, complex and endless, stretching and winding for who knows how long. Only instead of gold and silver, this place was resplendent with nature.

It was incredible.

She followed the toad through a massive archway that led to a more private area. There were no more random toads anyways. The sound of the toads they'd passed faded as they went further in. It was very dark, none of the torches were lit. Taylor squinted as she looked around unable to make out anything aside from a massive shape in the middle of the room.

A statue of some sort?

Her examination was interrupted by Gamakichi.

"Heya pops how's it going? I brought the new summoner to meet you and the elders."

Pops? Who was he talking too?

As if in answer to her thoughts a large ember high in the air flared to life. It illuminated the large mound she'd mistaken for a statue.

She felt her eyes widen and mouth go dry as she took in the massive, scarred face, of what appeared to be a gigantic toad. Idly she noticed that the ember of light had come from a truly humongous pipe.

It seemed smoking ran in the family she thought a bit hysterically.

As the massive toad exhaled, the fire died down and a torrent of smoke came from the toad's lips. A single ember from his pipe leaped through the air and darted to the wall as if magnetized. It ignited an oil of some sort that was held in a ridge on the wall.

As the flame spiraled around the cavern, it lit up the space so that she was able to get a better view of what was the largest toad she'd ever seen in her life. The largest anything really. Taylor tried to come up with a coherent thought but found herself unable.

Apparently when talking about how awesome his father was in battle, how skilled he was with a blade, how powerful his justsu whatever those were, somewhere along the line Gamakichi forgot to mention that his father was the size of an endbringer.

Bigger even. At least of a size with Behemoth.

Holy shit.

"Hello son"

Its voice was just as big as it was. It rumbled like thunder throughout the cavern. Nearly akin to a physical force and Taylor did her best to stand tall in the face of the incredible sound.

Taylor finally managed a rational thought. Unfortunately, it wasn't at all helpful.

Was this really her life?


	4. Interlude 1-a: Toads

1.a Interlude: Toads

 **Gamabunta**

The massive battle hardened toad took another deep drag of his pipe as he examined the human his son had brought him.

Their new summoner?

Yes, he could feel the connection between them. Contract or no, she was indeed capable of calling upon them.

Now the question was, was she worthy?

He leaned forward to get a better look at their would-be summoner. His lips quirked slightly as he saw the tadpole force herself from stepping away from him. Her back straightened under his scrutiny and she did her best to meet his gaze.

She was a contrast of emotions. A mix of fear, and awe at his impressive size, and fearsome appearance. He quashed a familiar smugness rising within at seeing another human's reaction to their first sight of him. That reaction was both expected and understandable. Smart even. No, what was most interesting was the resolve that shone through all else. Despite her fear of him and the situation she found herself in, she faced him.

The massive toad let out a grunt of approval.

The tadpole had guts it seemed.

Still, she didn't look like much. Tall for her gender and age he thought though he could have been mistaken. They were all so small to him that it was hard to tell sometimes. She was rail-thin and long limbs, bony wrists peeked from the sleeves of the baggy sweater she was wearing. Her glasses glinted in the light as she fought to remain steady under his gaze.

No, the old warrior thought. She definitely didn't look like much.

Still, a few of their previous summoners hadn't looked like much either had they?

Gamabunta felt the familiar rush of fondness, pride, and irritation as he thought about the last human who had entered their mountain. He'd been a special boy, if a bit mouthy at first.

He refocused himself to the current situation. Best get this underway before the girl fainted. She'd been handling herself admirably thus far, but no need to strain her more than was necessary.

"So, you the one who would summon us, hmm?"

The girl did an admirable job of hiding her startled jump at the sound of his voice. She looked down at her feet, searching for a proper response.

The toad felt another thread of approval at the sight. Guts were all well and good, but the intelligence to back them up was required as well. Something, he thought ruefully, that had taken their last summoner more time than most to learn.

Finally, she managed to find the words she sought.

"Could you explain what you mean by would be summoner sir?"

Gamabunta barely concealed a laugh.

Sir?

Not since little Minato had he heard such respect from one of their summoners.

He was careful not to let his amusement show on his face as he gazed down at the human who was becoming more and more interesting. There was a certain protocol for these situations to follow after all.

"You have summoned one of us without signing the contract. You were vouched for by neither the previous summoner Naruto nor the current summoner Kono-gaki. When such an event happens, the human in question is brought before us to be judged."

He looked at her, making sure she understood. When she nodded in understanding he continued.

"Should you be found worthy, until death you will have the might of the toad clan at your back."

"And if I am unworthy?"

Gamabunta grinned. Smart girl.

"Don't be," was the simple reply.

She nodded in acceptance.

Interesting the toad mused. Even he with all of his experience was having trouble reading her expression. It was carefully and deliberately blank, a mask. Something she'd likely had much practice with before the met. He wondered at the reason. His ruminations were interrupted by the young girl.

"How do I prove myself worthy of the Toads?"

Gamabunta once again noted the firmness with which she spoke. It wasn't bravado fueled by recklessness or fear. Rather it was a determination, intense and tempered by caution. For a second he could have sworn the brown of her eyes had shifted to a piercing, cool blue.

Yes, Gamabunta rather thought Minato might have approved of this girl.

Bah, reminiscing about the old days. He was getting old.

"You will tell us about yourself, and the reason you would wield the strength of the Toads."

He noted the girl seemed startled. Perhaps she thought this to be simple? Best to disabuse her of such a notion.

"Know this, no lie will be heard on this sacred mountain. You must bare all. Tell us of your world and your situation. Tell us why you would use us and how you came across the ability to summon my son."

Gamabunta watched as the girl paled. Either her goals were not something she was proud of and wished to share or, the path to her power had been especially trying.

Perhaps both. He did not like to frighten a tadpole so much, but it was important he impressed upon her the significance of what was happening. She had to take this seriously, and, it seemed she would.

Satisfied, the boss toad spoke.

"If, after all that, we find you worthy, you shall be granted the title of Toad Summoner and allowed to sign our contract. Your fight will be our fight. Your enemies will be our own. Never again will you be alone as long as the Toad family thrives."

Still shaken, the girl nodded weakly.

"Hush now Bun-chan, you're scaring the poor girl!"

Gamabunta grunted and rolled his eyes, looking over at the small purple toad that had interrupted him.

The tadpole was unable to hide her reaction this time. Jumping back with a startled noise barely choked back she stared at the elder toads. She'd apparently failed to notice them whilst distracted by him.

She muttered something incomprehensible to herself as she stared at Fukasaku-sama.

He only caught a single word, not that he could decipher much meaning from it. He'd never heard of a 'Yoda' before. Something of significance from her world perhaps?

Shima stood next to Fukasaku looking at the girl with motherly concern. She had also, Gamabunta noticed with resigned acceptance, completely broken the atmosphere he'd cultivated.

With another puff on his pipe and a long drawn out sigh as he exhaled, he spoke.

"It's important that she takes this seriously Shima-sama."

"You can do that without scaring the poor dear," the elder toad berated while her husband stood next to her rolling his eyes.

With an irritated whoosh of breath, the great toad looked back to the girl. She was examining the elder toads cautiously, not seeming to dismiss them due to her size.

Well, he approved of that at any rate. One would have to be a fool to dismiss those two. He was glad to see that he was correct in that at least. The tadpole definitely had a brain in her.

"I've said my piece anyhow. It is up to you now, Fukasaku-sama, Shima-sama to judge her worth."

Shima opened her mouth again to reply but was interrupted as her husband placed a hand on her shoulder. Walking forward, the elderly toad moved to stand in front of the girl.

He settled down to watch. It was up to them now.

* * *

 **Fukasaku**

The aged toad looked up at the tadpole Gamakichi had brought before them. She, in turn, looked down at him. As one of the elders, it was their job to ask the questions before they decided whether or not to accept a summoner.

He looked askance at his wife who seemed to be restraining herself from giving the child a hug and reassurances that everything would be okay.

Looks like it was up to him he thought wryly.

Shifting his focus back to the girl, he noted that Gamakichi had laid a hand on her shoulder in reassurance. An early indication of their compatibility together perhaps. It would serve them well in battle if so.

That would come in time he supposed. Before that, though, an introduction was in order.

"Child, what is your name?"

"Taylor. Taylor Hebert" the girl replied.

The wizened toad smiled in response. It seemed to help slightly as the girl relaxed infinitesimally.

"My name is Fukasaku. Behind me is my wife Shima, as you no doubt heard from Bun-chan."

He looked on amusedly as the girl tried to process that. Mouthing "Bun-chan" to herself incredulously, she looked between him and the giant toad behind him as though expecting him to erupt. The giant toad contained himself to meaningless grumbles to express his dissatisfaction with the nickname.

Fukasaku snorted to himself mentally, that tadpole was years too young to be complaining about such things.

"Now, please, tell us of your world child. Do not fear, we do not expect you to know all. We merely wish to appraise the situation that you came from. As you no doubt surmised, yours is a different world than ours."

She looked back at Gamakichi for reassurance. The girl seemed to find some sort of confidence as he nodded at her encouragingly. Squaring her shoulders she began to speak.

Fukasaku listened intently as the girl spoke. What she spoke of, it was a world completely different than their own. It was something obvious, that they already knew; however, it was another thing entirely to hear the vivid descriptions of another world.

She spoke of technology, far advanced compared to their own, and although she didn't say it outright, she mentioned enough for him to confirm that her world had no chakra wielders amongst them, and thus, no ninja.

Her world was not without danger though. Or defenders. She spoke of people with strange powers. As though her world were full of bloodline wielders. She spoke of the hard times her city was suffering. Of how this Brockton Bay died the slow death, how the heroes were vastly outnumbered by the villains in a seemingly hopeless battle for the city's future. She looked physically pained as she talked about it. It was clearly a subject of great personal interest to her. On and on she went, and Fukasaku listened.

His eyes sharpened as she talked about the massive monsters that terrorized her world. These endbringers. It sounded even worse than a tailed beast attack. She spoke of how their 'victories' in these battles were marked by less than usual casualties.

The elder raised his hand, pausing her in mid-sentence, her mouth shut with a click. He'd heard enough. Stroking his goatee thoughtfully, he pondered on what he'd heard. It was a lot to take in, he'd have to meditate on it later to fully appreciate the information. However, it was enough to paint a rather grim picture.

"I begin to understand. Yours is a dangerous world, though, perhaps it is hypocritical of me to say so. Ours is no easy place to live either. Now, to an important matter which I'm sure we would all like an answer. How is it that you came to be able to summon us without our contract?"

The short toad watched as the girl blanched. She looked nauseated and afraid.

He waited patiently as she attempted to compose herself.

She seemed to reach deep within herself for the resolve to answer, it seemed to take something out of her. The child seemed smaller somehow as she prepared to speak.

Whatever it was, Fukasaku thought, it had affected the tadpole deeply.

As the tadpole, Taylor, he reminded himself spoke, he understood why. She explained to them about trigger events and how they resulted in powers. Then with many stutters and half-started sentences, she described her own. The presence of Gamakichi sitting behind her with an arm on her shoulder seemed to be the only thing keeping her standing.

He understood, suffused with sympathy for the girl. It was horrific what she'd gone through. Almost worse than the act itself though was how pointless it was. It seemed that the people who'd done this to her had no reason behind their actions aside from cruelty for cruelty's sake.

He sighed, looking down at the ground because as many instances as there were of the potential of humanity; many he'd experienced from their own summoners, there seemed to be even more instances of how low they could sink.

It wouldn't due to dwell on this subject, he would definitely need to mediate after this business was concluded.

He looked back to the tadpole and felt a fond smile tug at his lips at the sight of his wife hovering over the girl. It seemed Taylor's story had been the last straw and she could no longer restrain herself. Taylor, for her part, seemed unsure of how to react to the mothering brought on by the well-intentioned toad.

He let them have a moment as he thought.

Truthfully, her status as a summoner was already decided. It seemed cruel to make her go through all this given that; but, it was important that they understand both the girl and her motivations. He thought back to when they'd first heard of the girl. The words the old geezer spoke.

 _"The toads will gain a new summoner. A damaged girl from another world, with the power of the toads and her determination, she shall bring great change. On the golden morning, she will stand and fight, in desperate defiance of fate, the toads stand tall."_

Unhelpful and vague as prophecies generally tended to be. Still, the Great Honorable Geezer, as he was known to the toads, had never been wrong yet. The girl standing before them was proof enough that his record remained untarnished.

Great change, the elder mused to himself thoughtfully. It could mean too many things. Both good, bad, and anything in between. He hoped that with a better understanding of the girl, they'd be able to make sure those changes were directed in a positive way. Both for the girl's world and the girl herself. She looked like the kind of person who would take her mistakes to heart.

It was why the answer to his next, and last question was of vital importance.

"Taylor."

The girl looked up from where she'd been weathering the care of his wife. She seemed entirely unused to such things.

"For what cause would you have the toads fight by your side?"

"I…"

Taylor stopped, seemingly trying to organize her thoughts. Fukasaku felt a pang of sympathy for the girl. She'd gone through a lot today. Thankfully, it was almost over.

"I want to be a hero. I want to help people. I… I don't want others to look around Brockton Bay and see what I see, a losing battle. I want to give people hope."

She was flushing as she finished speaking. Almost flinching as if she thought her declaration would be met with laughter or ridicule.

"That is a good dream," he said instead.

And it was. It did much to reassure him that their new summoner was a good person. That she'd gone through what she had and had come out wanting to not only be better but, do better as well.

The poor girl looked almost thunderstruck at his response.

"My last and final question before we make our decision. Taylor, why do you want to be a hero?"

Her response was not what he'd expected. She looked ashamed, unable to meet his gaze, staring at her shoes instead as she spoke.

"I don't like myself," was how she responded, reluctant and determined all at once. "I am weak. I've become almost numb to life since my mother died and the bullying started. I want to help people. I do I promise." Her voice was weak and threaded with desperation.

She didn't have to convince him. The old toad believed her already. Damaged as she was, she was a good person at her core. He didn't need his centuries of experience to see that.

"But," and here she stopped briefly, looking shamed again. "I want to escape. I want to be someone else. Someone that isn't weak, someone that I can look at in the mirror and feel something positive about."

Her words were thick with emotion.

"I know it's a selfish reason. But it's all I have right now. I'm sorry that I don't have anything better to offer."

She wasn't wrong acknowledged the elder, it wasn't an unselfish reason. Still, it wasn't necessarily a bad reason either. And perhaps along the way, she'd discover something more.

Fukasaku was satisfied. He looked to his wife and Gamabunta, only to see they'd come to a similar conclusion. Nodding at them both, he turned to face Taylor who looked like she was bracing herself for a crushing disappointment.

Fukasaku let his stern features and serious manner fade into something more genial and smiled widely at the girl.

"Welcome new summoner. Welcome, to the Toad Clan."

Taylor sunk to the floor in stunned relief. Or she would have had Gamakichi not caught her with a wide grin of his own.

"Gamakichi."

The youngster stood to attention under the elder's scrutiny, one hand helping prop the still stunned girl up.

"Take our new summoner home. Give her the contract to sign, and make sure she gets some rest. She's had a long day."

Gamakichi answered with a boisterous salute, leading their new summoner out so that they could go back to her world

He waved in response to the dazed girl telling them goodbye.

He turned to the two remaining in the room.

"An interesting turn of events hmm?"

His dear wife agreed in her own way.

"The poor girl."

Gamabunta grunted in agreement, to which of them, Fukasaku wasn't sure. Both perhaps.

The elderly toad gave a creaking stretch, he wasn't getting any younger he noted wryly. Still, one more thing to do before they could consider this business concluded.

There would be much to do in the near future he knew. The girl would have to be trained if she was to fight alongside them. It'd be tricky with her lack of chakra, but they'd manage. She would have to tell them about the local opposition, as well as meet the toads who would battle alongside her. Learn their strengths and weaknesses.

Yes, there was a lot to do. But, that could come later.

Reaching over to the wall of the cavern, Fukasaku activated one of the many seals. He leaned over and spoke into it as it flared to life.

"Kosuke, come please."

Less than 30 seconds had passed before a red blur raced into the room. A small red toad with the kanji for gold on his back, wearing a pair of goggles skidded to a stop in front of the elder.

"Kosuke, head messenger toad reporting for duty!" He said with a sloppy salute and a wide cheery grin.

Fukasaku smiled at the young toad's eagerness. Despite his age, he was amongst the fasted the toads had to offer.

Yes, there was a lot to do, Fukasaku knew this, but that didn't mean they couldn't still enjoy life.

With a wide grin, the elder addressed the younger toad.

"Ko-chan, alert the family. We have a new summoner. It's time for a celebration!"

* * *

 **Gamakichi**

He looked around the bedroom with interest. Noting all of the strange things he'd never seen before that dotted the space. He imagined that he'd be seeing a lot of this strange world in the coming days.

Gamakichi looked over to their newly christened summoner. She looked worn. Her appearance was drawn, with a look far older than what one would expect to see on a teenager. Gamakichi couldn't say that he was surprised really. She'd had a long day. He was careful to hide a grimace, remembering how she'd described her 'trigger' event. Disgusting. He did his best to focus on the matter at hand, and not on that rather disturbing revelation.

"So," he said, his voice seemed to shock Taylor out of the daze she was in. "Ready to sign the contract? You obviously don't need it to summon us like other summoners, but it's a bit of a tradition yanno? Wouldn't do to have a summoner that wasn't on the contract."

At her nod of assent, he expelled the contract from his mouth. He watched her reaction of shocked disgust with poorly concealed amusement. No matter that the contract wasn't at all slimy like you might expect having been in the body of a toad, it never failed to make an impression.

"Now, how this goes is that you sign your name blood," he said as he unfurled the large scroll for her to see. "As you can see, we've had less than 10 summoners before you, the toads can be kind of picky. So be proud okay? You must be pretty awesome to have such an awesome summon," he said with a wink, trying to lighten the mood for her.

Taylor nodded weakly back, but it didn't seem to Gamakichi that she'd believed him. Something to work on in the future.

"Now, after your name, you make a handprint. And that's it. Pretty simple really."

She looked a bit queasy at the thought of using her own blood to sign. That squeamishness faded with respectable quickness and was replaced with resolve. He supposed a little blood wasn't much compared to the conversation she'd had earlier.

"How will I get the blood out?" She asked the toad, looking like she was questioning her on sanity with the question she'd just asked.

Gamakichi gave a grin and in a flash withdrew his blade.

Taylor blanched at the sight.

"Do we really have to use your giant knife?"

Rather than be irritated at his beloved tanto, a gift from his father signifying him as an adult member of the toad clan, being referred to something as basic and inelegant as a knife. Gamakichi was pleased to have the opportunity to enlighten this poor soul.

"This my lady summoner, is no mere knife. This little beauty is an exquisite example of a tanto," he said as he admired how the light reflected off the blade. "More specifically, it is a Yoridoshi style tanto. You can tell by the fact that it is much thicker at the spine of the blade. It makes it exceptional at piercing armor," he informed her loftily.

Taylor stared at him blankly for two long seconds.

"Boys," she muttered under her breath as she rolled her eyes.

Gamakichi narrowed his eyes at her and snorted. Philistine.

"Give me your hand. Don't worry, I won't make you cut yourself in a test of courage or something lame like that. You showed more than enough of that today anyway; besides, you aren't skilled enough with a blade yet to risk it."

The girl thrust her hand towards him, mouthing 'yet' to herself. The young toad noted with approval that there was no hesitation as she gave him her hand.

His blade was a blur of motion as he raised it over her palm and stabbed downward five times. The cuts were so quick and clean that it took a moment before blood started welling up from the pads of each fingertip.

He felt a bit smug he watched Taylor try to absorb the speed with which that had happened and nudged the scroll to her.

He watched as she carefully spelled out her name on the scroll. The roman letters looked out of place next to the kanji of Sarutobi and Naruto. Though it certainly looked neater than Naruto's. His big bro had been a lot of things as a child, but a caligrapher had not been one of them.

Carefully pressing her hand to the contract she made the handprint and finished signing. Rolling it up with a snap he turned to face Taylor.

"That's that then," he said with a smile to the girl. "You've had a long day. Get some rest, and summon one of us in the next few days. We'll go over the basics of what we can offer you, what it means to be a summoner, as well as training."

Taylor nodded in affirmative. He wasn't offered by the lack of verbal reply. She'd had a lot to process. He got ready to begin the reverse summoning before stopping. His gave found his new summoner standing in the middle of her room, looking a bit lost.

Gamakichi sighed.

"Hey, listen. What happened to you…" her face paled at even this peripheral mention of her trigger.

The toad grimaced but soldiered on. This needed to be said, better it was done sooner than later.

"It won't happen again. Whatever you're facing. Whether it's one of these endbringers you described or a school bully. You're not alone anymore. That's the benefit of becoming our summoner. You're an honorary toad. That means you're at least three times cooler than you were yesterday by the way," he finished with a cheesy grin.

He began the reverse summoning again.

"Don't worry, from now on, I got your back little sis," and with a wink and a puff of smoke, he was gone.

Gamakichi arrived back at Mount Myoboku snickering at the memory of the face she'd made when he called her little sis. Making his way to the sounds of a party in the distance he thought of her reaction to his words before he left.

She hadn't looked like she'd believed him, but, it looked like she had wanted too.

It was enough for now. A start.

Gamakichi shot a glance at the sun beaming cheerfully as he reached the edge of the party.

I think you would have liked her big bro.


	5. Impressions 2-1

Impressions 2.1

Present

She'd been hopping around the city with Gamakichi for about an hour. Truthfully for their first patrol, they hadn't done much actual patrolling. She felt a little guilty about that, but even four months later, riding around with Gamakichi was an amazing experience.

She relished in it.

Four months.

It really wasn't that long of a time. It felt like an age though. She almost felt like a different person entirely. Once the shock that she did in fact have powers had worn off, she'd come to realize what that would mean for her. Right then she had resolved to research the capes of Brockton a bit more seriously and begin getting in shape through running.

The toads, Gamakichi in particular, had agreed that it was a fine plan. Then they'd taken that plan of running and getting in shape, and they cranked it up to eleven.

As toad summoner, her true power came from the toads itself. It was undeniable and obvious. As was the fact that as with most master class capes, she was the obvious weak point.

The toads hadn't missed that either. Especially since she lacked the ability to manipulate the energy they called chakra that was apparently integral to pretty much all of their abilities.

Thus, started Taylor's first experience in boot camp. Toad style.

It was hell.

Taylor was interrupted from further masochistic reminiscing by a feeling of mischievousness and anticipation coming beneath her.

She was about to ask Kichi what he was planning when mid-leap between rooftops he jolted his back in midair.

Taylor was thrown off his back in midair between rooftops.

Four months ago this would have been almost certainly fatal.

After the boot camp from hell on Mount Myoboku?

Taylor tucked into a textbook roll as she reached the other roof ending in a kneeling position. She glared up at the snickering toad who'd gone ahead and jumped onto the second level of the same roof.

"Just making sure you're keeping up with your training sis," was the innocent reply.

Taylor wouldn't have believed him anyway, but it was near impossible for him to lie to her when she could feel the playful emotions he was experiencing in her mind. It was a more subtle aspect of her power that they'd discovered over the past few months.

When she summoned a toad to her world, she felt a spot of warmth in her mind. An awareness. That wasn't quite an accurate description but it was as close as she could get with just words. From this, she could sense the relative position of each toad she'd summoned, their general feelings, and even, if she forced it, could project an impression of what she wanted them to do. She wanted to call it a command, but that wasn't the right word. For one, they weren't forced to act against their will, and for another, it wasn't like they actually heard her voice in their heads.

Kichi had described it to her as a mix of instinct and impressions, they mostly knew what she intended and were free to act on it.

If she remembered the PRT power classes correctly she was pretty sure that it would net her a minor thinker rating.

Her thoughts were again interrupted by Kichi. This time from him snickering as he looked down at her.

"Well? If you've been keeping up with your training, come on up and join me sis."

Taylor ignored him, anything else would simply encourage him. The willowy girl examined the wall, looking for the best path forward. Her being the obvious weak link with her powers had led the toads to extensively train her maneuverability. Specifically, her ability to not be there when someone was trying to hit her.

Truthfully, she appreciated the thought. She wasn't looking forward to getting hit either.

During the training, was where Taylor noticed the other minor aspect of her power. Apparently, when one became contracted with the Toads, they shared something of themselves between their bond.

For Taylor, this meant she gained a minor increase in her sense of balance, flexibility, and jumping ability. She emphasized minor, it wasn't what you could really call superhuman. She doubted she'd earn a 1 in any of the PRT ratings from it. Taylor wasn't even sure if she would have noticed the changes herself if it weren't for how quickly she'd advanced through that aspect of her training. It was no brute package, but it gave her an edge when learning parkour and movement that she definitely appreciated. Oh... and she also found herself sporting webbed toes now. Which was... strange, but more than worth it if it was what it took for her to keep her toads.

Finally, she settled on her path. She sprinted toward the wall of the second level of the roof. Without slowing down, she leapt at the wall at an impressive height and kicked off, turning to catch the edge of the fire escape ladder. Her toned arms flexed as she lifted herself onto the lower rungs. Once her feet found purchase she turned and leapt once more, hands reaching for the lip of the second level rooftop. With a grunt she caught herself. Before she could begin lifting herself up, an orange hand grabbed her wrist and easily heaved her up.

Gamakichi smiled at her with pride holding her entire weight aloft one-handed with ease before setting her down and turning around so that she could hop back on.

Taylor rolled her eyes, "you know, there are other ways you could have checked to make sure I wasn't slacking off."

"Sure," the toad agreed amicably, "but it wouldn't have been nearly as fun."

Taylor restrained herself from rolling her eyes again. She had a feeling he'd be eliciting that reaction from her a lot, better to save her strength for when that inevitably happened.

Still, she felt herself glow with pride. It was one thing to train, it was another to see the results. Her once skinny limbs had some definition to them and her slight paunch that came from having gym class as her only source of exercise had disappeared, leaving a flat stomach in its wake. The toads had been very good with her training.

She still wasn't what someone would call beautiful. Her lips were still too wide, face a little too plain. But she didn't think the bitches three would be able to call her appearance frog-like anymore. Ironic that toads were instrumental in that change.

Patting Kichi's head to let him know she was ready, they were once again off on their patrol. She made sure to keep her eyes peeled for trouble.

They were patrolling the area between the docks and downtown. Right at the edge of E88 territory. She'd thought about going to the ABB stomping grounds, but with her powers obvious oriental theme, she hadn't wanted to risk it.

Not, she thought ironically, that Nazis were going to be too accepting of the obvious Asian influence that came with her power either. But, at least with them, she wouldn't have someone like Lung possibly trying to forcibly recruit her, only to probably eat her once he found out that she was white.

It was a half hour later into their patrol when she got the inkling that trouble was near.

She felt a small ember of warmth at the edge of her senses from the other toad she'd summoned before her patrol. Only instead of the usual cheerful humming sensation that she usually got from him, Taylor felt a tempered urgency and a controlled, professional focus.

Approaching her at great speed, a small red streak blurred toward her. It stopped in front of her to reveal Kosuke. Aside from Gamakichi, Kosuke and the messenger corps had been her most frequent summons. She'd armed them with maps of Brockton Bay and had them spread out and explore, learn what they could and get familiar with the lay of the land. It was vital for them to have that knowledge so that they could perform their job as scouts and messengers properly.

"Trouble?"

The red toad lifted his goggles onto his forehead and nodded in response, not breathing heavily at all from his recent exertions. He was not only the fastest of the messengers but the one with the most stamina as well.

"About a half a mile down, few blocks away from the market. Looks like a group of those Nazi guys. I stuck around a bit to see if I could get any info. Seems their trying to pressgang that doll girl into joining them."

Taylor shared a look with Gamakichi. They didn't have to speak to know what action to take.

"Lead the way, we'll talk and walk."

She listened intently as Kosuke explained the situation.

The doll girl was obviously Parian. She remembered being interested in her on first hearing of her. The cities only rogue, it made her kind of famous in a way. Seems it brought on the wrong sort of attention toward her this time.

Apparently, they'd interrupted the tail end of one of her famous puppet shows. They were really popular and the kids loved them from what she'd understood from skimming the rogue's PHO forum. It wasn't often people got to see cape powers in action without the danger that usually went hand in hand with it. Unfortunately, it also made it very easy to find her. According to Kosuke, the Empire had decided to capitalize on that predictability. Probably keeping the stragglers as hostages to keep Parian compliant. Still though, a group of E88 thugs shouldn't be a huge issue for the fabric manipulator. Even if she didn't fight, Parian was still a cape. And from the size of some of the puppets she'd created, one that Taylor suspected wasn't as helpless as she might have seemed.

So…

"Kosuke, did you see any capes around?"

Her suspicions were confirmed at the toads nod.

"Describe them?"

"One was a girl, she was standing on a floating manhole cover and had debris floating in orbit around her."

Rune. That could be trouble. She was an exceptionally powerful telekinetic from what she'd read. The youngest Empire cape, she'd been seen throwing around several tons worth of material as casually as Taylor would throw a baseball.

"The other I remembered right away. Hookwolf, you noted him as one of the more dangerous and brutal villains in the area."

Taylor cursed violently, startling the little toad at the unusual display of profanity from his summoner. She did not want to be anywhere near that psycho. Aside from being a pretty strong brute, he was also a known and remorseless killer.

"Any other good news?" she asked sarcastically.

Kosuke grimaced and Kichi grunted, agreeing with her assessment of the situation.

"Sorry boss. There was one other as well. I'm not sure about him though, albino guy. He had a big knife, looked to be in charge of the unpowered grunts."

That tickled at the edge of her conscience, but Taylor couldn't bring the memory into focus. There were a lot of capes in Brockton after all, she'd yet to memorize them all.

Still though, what a mess.

Kosuke slowed as they approached their destination. Taylor could see slabs of concrete miscellaneous debris floating lazily in a circle slightly above the roof about a block away. Nothing that looked like it would be fun to get hit with. Or survivable.

They stopped. Taylor nodded her thanks to Kosuke and dismissed him. She felt the speck of warmth in her mind disappear as he returned home.

"Ready for this Taylor?"

She looked over at her partner, taking a measure of solace in how come he appeared. God, a battle with two, possibly three capes on her first night out. Heavy hitters too. Did she trade her luck for toads when she triggered?

"Nope," she answered honestly. "Not even a little bit."

Gamakichi laughed in response, slapping her on the back hard enough that she stumbled.

"Sounds perfect for your first battle then. Let's go start some shit."

Taylor snorted in response.

She couldn't leave Parian to face the Nazis alone. It wasn't even an option. She stifled her fear as best she could and reached for her courage.

Taylor held out her fist.

Gamakichi grinned and bumped it with his own.

Well, she supposed that sometimes Gamakichi had a way with words.

It was time to go start some shit.


	6. Interlude 2-a: Chemist

2.a Interlude: Chemist

Same time as the E88 Fight

He stood at the mouth of an alleyway staring down at the prone bodies of his victims. And wasn't that still the strangest thought? That he could take down one, let alone multiple people. The woman they'd tried to assault had fled when he'd stepped into their line of sight and interrupted them.

He didn't really care to think too heavily on what they'd intended to do to her.

The three ABB toughs had noted his approach warily. He imagined that their reaction was mostly due to his costume, ramshackle as it was.

He was wearing a lab coat with a high collar and the sleeves ripped off. The formerly white coat was dyed a darker gray color to better blend at night. He'd painstakingly sewed extra pockets so that he could carry his gear until he finished working out the bugs of his project. Black jeans and gloves continued the dark color scheme he was working with.

Absently he scratched at his face, it was covered by a bandanna and welders goggles. It wasn't exactly a professional setup. Not very comfortable either.

Placeholders till he finished his more advanced pair of goggles that were waiting at home. The targeting system was giving him some issues and he was still working out how to fit in the infra-red vision.

He finished the look with a pair of bulky, black steel-toed boots. A kick from those would be remembered the next day. Shit-kickers his dad had called them when he gave him his old pair.

He prodded one of the ABB thugs to make sure there were no adverse effects to what he'd done. It was an apt description he thought, given the type of people he was prodding with the sturdy footwear.

As costumes went, it really wasn't much and it offered no protection at all. He would have felt better about going out if he had waited until his gear was finished. Both for protection and so that he could have his weapons ready on hand at a moment's notice. But he'd been feeling restless and his gear, or what was ready anyway had to be tested somehow.

Thinking of his weapons he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small yellow orb, somewhere between a tennis ball and golf ball in size. It was more of a chemical ball now he supposed. Maybe chem-ball? It had started as an empty polyethylene shell the size of a marble. He'd carefully inserted his chosen chemical creation into the orb causing it to grow to its current size.

Hard to believe that this little yellow chem-ball contained an acid that on contact with oxygen would eat its way through about a foot of concrete in seconds. The impressive truly impressive part about the innocuous looking orb was that he'd engineered it to be harmless to organic matter. Didn't need any accidentally melted gangsters on his conscious.

He shook the gruesome thought and continued observing the thugs for any signs of irregularities. A complication with his creations could have unfortunate side effects.

Chem-ball. He'd have to remember that. It was a pretty cool name.

Looking back to the gangsters, he felt no sympathy for their state. Not after what they'd tried to do to that poor woman he'd saved.

She hadn't thanked him, too busy running away. But that didn't matter to him, he wasn't doing it for the recognition. He was just glad he'd been able to save her.

That thought echoed. He saved someone. It wasn't like last time. This time, he'd succeeded. He wondered if she'd be proud of him.

The cape shifted his gaze back to the sphere in his hand.

It had taken a while before he managed to make the machine that manufactured the empty shells. His specialty didn't lend itself well to machinery. It was probably why his real gear was taking so long to complete he mused ruefully.

He was a tinker class cape. And tinker's all had something that they were good at, a specialty field in which they could create masterpieces beyond compare.

When people thought of tinkers, they thought of ray guns, hover packs, and power armor.

Chemical engineering. That was where his abilities lent themselves.

As far as he was aware, it was pretty rare. Most tinkers focused on machinery in some manner. The Dragons, the Armsmasters, etc….

There was one rather famous tinker who didn't follow that trend either. But, that wasn't a comparison that he was eager to make. He was pretty sure there was a hero in Alaska as well that wasn't a tinker in the classical sense either. But aside from them there weren't too many tinker capes like him.

He was well aware that he'd basically won the lottery with his power, even as he was certain he didn't really deserve such a great ability. His was a versatile field that allowed him to address threats across the board. Or, at least it would, once he finished his gear and wasn't relying on premade chem-balls.

He checked his watch. He'd been observing the prone gangsters for five minutes. Satisfied that there were no obvious complications from the knockout gas he'd hit them with he prepared to leave, mentally marking down the first field test of his work as successful.

A massive shadow at the mouth of the alleyway stilled his movements.

How had he not noticed him? How long had he been there?

The sinking in his gut worsened as he took in who was standing before him.

The figure stood at slightly under 6 feet in height. The crimson samurai armor he wore added a few inches to his height. His samurai styled helmet, a kabuto his mind supplied, familiar with the term from one of his games. The mengu, or facial armor, was a mask in the shape of a snarling demon in black. The only color aside from red. Strapped to his back was a large tank of some sort.

Bushido.

Shit.

What the hell was that psycho dong here?

The chemical tinker cursed mentally. What were the chances he'd run into a cape on his first night out? ABB territory wasn't exactly small, and Lung didn't lower himself to actually patrolling his area. With the ABB's relatively small number of capes, he'd figured the chances of running into one was negligible.

He was not ready for a fight against a cape, especially one he knew relatively little about. He knew that he was a recent acquisition of the ABB. He'd joined somewhere in the last month or two. And he knew that the man already had a reputation for brutality.

He frantically searched his memory for the particulars of his power. If he remembered correctly, he was a brute and shaker combination. The brute part was obvious with the ease of which he carried himself in his heavy costume. For the life of him though, he couldn't remember the other aspect of his power.

"You are either very brave or very foolish for attacking the ABB."

His thoughts were interrupted as Bushido finally spoke. His voice was a harsh growl, like the sound of metal that had made its way into a trash disposal.

The chemical tinker cocked his head to the side in acknowledgment of the words for lack of anything better to say. Afraid that if he spoke that he wouldn't be able to fully hide exactly how terrified he was.

"You are lucky," the modern samurai continued. "Lung is busy, showing others the consequences of slighting the ABB. In his absence, it seems that it's up to me to enforce upon you the gravity of the error you've committed tonight."

Having finished his piece, Bushido reached back to the bottom of the large tank and turned a knob that rested behind the back of his thighs. The tank on his back gave a shrill whistle and steam erupted out of the contraption strapped to his back from the vents on the side.

Fuck.

He remembered the other aspect of Bushido's power.

The chemical tinker carefully reached into one of his many pockets with his free hand, grasping onto one of his chem-balls as he watched steam billow and wreath around the ABB cape with unnatural intensity. It made for a terrifying visage.

The ABB enforcer's shaker power was what made him stand out from the crowd so to speak.

Brutes tended to be fairly straightforward.

On top of that, on the sliding scale of brute bad ass-ery, Bushido was closer to the realm of Aegis than Alexandria. Or even Glory Girl. If that's all the crimson samurai had at hand, he'd still be intimidating of course, but the tinker wouldn't be nearly as worried.

Unfortunately, life wasn't really all that fair. Or interested in leaving him physically healthy, the slightly hysterical thought worming its way through his attempt at calm.

Bushido had the power to control steam. It didn't sound like much at first. Until one considered that he could control its temperature as well. The thought of boiling clouds of steam rushing to envelop him, scalding him, burning him alive with no escape… Steam control seemed a hell of a lot scarier then. If that wasn't enough, the steam he controlled didn't seem to affect him at all. It made him tricky to engage as he apparently had a habit of immersing himself in the stuff. That on top of super strength?

He wondered if the other cape could see his legs shake.

He remembered it now, Bushido's debut. He had left 10 E88 thugs suffering 2nd and 3rd-degree burns as part of his initiation to the ABB.

The thugs had been brutalized enough that the pictures posted on the PHO had been labeled NSFW.

He'd recalled that he'd nearly vomited at the destruction Bushido had wrought. It was also the first time he could ever remember feeling something in the neighborhood of sympathy for those Nazi pricks that ran the downtown area.

Yeah. Fuck this.

His first day out and his fate was to be boiled lobster? No thanks.

He was booking it.

Before Bushido could take a step toward him or direct his steam, the chemist whipped his hand out of his pocket and spiked the light blue orb he'd palmed at the ground. It broke and released a massive cloud of blue smoke. He wasted no time savoring the angry cursing of the ABB enforcer and bolted.

His breaths escaped him in ragged gasps, both from sheer terror and lack of exercise. Some distant part of his mind resolved to start jogging and build up some stamina. Assuming he survived tonight anyway. He looked around frantically for an escape.

His search was interrupted by a blinding pain on his arm. It hurt worse than anything he'd ever felt before. The tinker looked back to see multiple hands made of steam reaching through his smoke, grasping at him. Bushido had apparently sent his steam ahead, likely not wanting to fight an unknown cape without vision. Lucky him that one of them tagged his arm. Even luckier, however, was that Bushido apparently couldn't sense when others were hit by his steam since there wasn't a 6-foot tall armored jackass baring down on him.

The chemical tinker blinked away the tears that gathered from the pain, balling it up and shoving it to the back of his mind as best he could. He bolted just as the samurai emerged from his smoke screen.

The grating laughter of the villainous cape echoed behind him as he continued his desperate search for some form of escape.

He couldn't outrun the other cape. Not when Bushido had the reach of his steam.

His eyes settled on a manhole cover about twenty feet in the distance and some shaky semblance of a plan came together. It relied on his untested creations all working perfectly. With a quick glance back at the red cape, he made his decision.

Fuck it.

The risks were worth it. The alternative? Not an option.

He was thankful that aside from the initial burn it seemed Bushido was holding back on his steam. Probably saw no point when he didn't think his prey could escape. Why ruin the fun of the chase? You didn't nearly burn 10 people to death and cause permanent injury without being something of a sadist.

The chemist lobbed the yellow chem-ball at the manhole cover as he neared it and sent a thankful prayer to whoever was listening that his aim was true. In less than 10 seconds the acid had eaten through the metal leaving a gaping hole in the street about three feet wide.

He hadn't been idle as his creation worked its magic, digging around his pockets for the next two chem-balls he'd need to pull this off.

He could hear the clanking of armor as the Bushido picked up speed behind him, sensing something off.

With a flick of his wrist, he sent a green capsule into the hole he'd created. It took a mixture of fear and desperation to force his body not to hesitate and jump after the orb into the pitch-dark hole.

He nearly wept in relief when he landed on a cushy green mound of foam instead of unforgiving cement. It worked.

He looked up, hearing the steady tread of heavy footsteps. Bushido peered over the edge of the hole down at him.

"What now? You've merely trapped yourself down there, easy prey for my steam." His awful grating voice gloated. An asshole even in victory.

Figured.

Well, he wanted to be a hero. It was practically his job to burst his bubble.

In answer to the brute's question, the tinker flicked up his last sphere. The orange ball arced up to the hole.

Bushido stepped back wearily.

He needn't have bothered. That particular chemical wasn't meant for him.

The orange orb erupted, filling the hole his acid had eaten through with a sort of rubber concrete.

The ABB cape roared in outrage as he realized what was happening. He sent his steam surging toward the tinker to no avail. The orange goop had sealed the area too fast, his last sight of the hero was a middle finger raised in defiance.

The tinker waited a long moment to make sure he was truly out of danger before slumping on the soft landing he'd created for himself.

Shit, that whole thing took what? Three minutes maybe?

That was probably being generous too. He couldn't believe how exhausted he was. Bringing a hand to his face he noticed it was trembling slightly.

What a night.

The tinker's groaned echoed through the empty sanctuary he'd found himself in.

What the fuck?

He doubted anyone else had to deal with this sort of shit on their first night out. It took about five minutes for him to regain his composure. The first thing he'd noticed was the smell. Right, he was in the sewers. Why had that seemed like a good idea again?

His arm flared with pain as if in answer to his rhetorical question. He looked over at his left arm and noticed an angry red handprint that wrapped around his arm. It radiated heat and pain.

Groaning once more at his situation, life in general, stupid asshole steam capes, and a million other things, he got up and tried to figure out he was going to get home.

It was almost two hours later he found himself stumbling home. He thanked whatever deities were listening that his parents tended to work late. He didn't feel up to sneaking past them.

Trudging upstairs he made his way to the bathroom, yanking off his goggles and pulling down his bandana.

Greg Veder looked at his reflection. Blonde hair plastered down with sweat and watery blue eyes adorning a fairly average looking face.

The sight disgusted him. Even now he could barely look himself in the eyes.

He'd never thought of himself too deeply before. Teenagers weren't known to be all that self-aware or to be particularly introspective.

Greg wondered if in his case, that it was because he wouldn't like what he'd discover. It took a massive mistake on his part before he truly examined himself for the first time in his life. Needs improvement was putting it lightly as far as he was concerned.

He remembered the day like it was yesterday, etched in his memory forever. Hearing some random girl making an off-hand comment about Taylor had led to him learning about the locker incident.

He knew he was smarter than most. He rocked the grades to prove it. Just as he knew that he was also stupid in other ways. He couldn't ever seem to think before he spoke and he had trouble reading the mood when it came to social situations. It seemed to annoy most, though Taylor had done the kindness of never saying so to his face.

That was forgivable though. Everyone had quirks. There are worse things to be than a little annoying. What he found less forgivable about himself was the cowardice.

Looking away from his reflection he headed to his room and booted up his computer and began researching recommended treatments for burn injuries.

He never was able to bring himself to stand up for Taylor. To be the one to stand against the crowd, as much as he professed to care for her. He wasn't sure if it would have mattered in the long run. He doubted he'd been able to effect change or make a difference. Not against the three most popular and vicious girls in the school. But even a failed attempt to help would have let Taylor know that someone cared enough to try.

Instead, she was alone against the world. Alone in the locker. Alone in the hospital recovering while the students of Winslow made fun of her trauma.

The thought agonized him. He'd tortured himself imaging how she felt. How he'd been unable to do anything to help. How no one else had even bothered. He didn't know how long that vicious cycle of thoughts repeated in his mind but eventually, he snapped.

And all of a sudden they appeared.

Chemicals of every kind and how to make them bloomed from within his mind.

A chemical to dissolve the door of the locker, a chemical reaction that would freeze the trio in a blast of ice, a gas that would cause calmness and lethargy to help her past the initial panic of what she'd been through.

He could create them all. Endless solutions for the problem at hand. All of them far too late to be worth a damn.

He'd been confused at first, but he had a reputation as a cape geek for a reason. It didn't take him long to work out that he'd triggered.

Greg looked over to the half-finished gear that would make up his costume.

He wanted nothing more than to treat his burn and pass out in oblivion.

At that thought, Taylor's face floated across his vision. Thoughts of sleep disappeared instantly. He reminded himself of the promise he'd made when he got his powers.

He would never again let his own weakness stop him from helping someone. He would die first.

He lifted himself out of his chair with a tired grunt. He was absolutely exhausted, but, that didn't matter. The sooner he finished his gear, the sooner he could go out and actually be a hero. Make a real difference and help people in need.

No more tests, no more running from enemy capes. He would stand and fight.

He began working on his gear with renewed determination.

It was six and a half hours later when he finally stopped, satisfied that he'd done all he could for now that he realized he still hadn't treated his burn.


	7. Impressions 2-2

Impressions 2.2

Taylor peered over the edge of the roof. They'd managed to make it over unseen. The only one who might have spotted her and Kichi on the rooftop was Rune. Thankfully the robed girl's attention seemed to be directed toward the situation unfolding below.

Taylor turned her attention down below. It looked like her hunch that the E88 had interrupted one of the shows Parian was known to put on with her powers had been correct. She had noticed a few posters advertising for it as they'd gotten closer to Parian's location. Probably wasn't too hard to for the Nazis to find her either.

Thankfully there hadn't been any violence yet. A tall muscled man with lank, greasy hair and a crude, sheet metal mask in the shape of a snarling wolf seemed to be saying something to a small girl.

Hookwolf.

Taylor fought the flutters of apprehension at the sight of him. A known murderer who'd been sentenced to the Birdcage two times only to be rescued by Kaiser and the E88. His only other concession to a costume was a large metal belt buckle of a wolf's head. Barbs and hooks erupted from his arms and seemed to shift constantly. It was a nauseating and intimidating sight.

The girl he was talking to must be Parian. She was barely over five feet in height with a mask in the shape of an old, Victorian style doll. Blonde hair in tight curls was her only feature not covered by her costume. A delicate creature in the face of the brute before her.

The contrast between the pair might have been hilarious if the situation wasn't so dire.

Whatever Hookwolf was saying to her, the rogue didn't seem all that receptive in Taylor's opinion, observing Parian's tense, defensive posture directed toward the larger cape.

Taylor panned her gaze, seemed like they had brought a couple non-powered muscle along as well. At the head of eight garden-variety thugs stood a youngish looking man with white blonde hair pulled into a low ponytail. His skin was paper white.

The man Kosuke had described to her as a possible cape. She'd been thinking furiously on the way over, trying to recall exactly who this was, it was harder than it sounded. Brockton Bay hosted a large number of capes and she'd researched them all, they blurred after a while.

Seeing him triggered the memory. Alabaster. She knew it was something like that, though she'd been fairly certain his cape name hadn't been 'A bastard' which had been all she'd been able to come up with at the time. Well, he was a Nazi and she supposed it sort of sounded like Alabaster. She'd mark it as close enough.

The albino was holding a large bladed knife of some sort, playfully running his thumb along the blade as he leered threateningly at a small group of stragglers, civilians that had shown up to see Parian's show.

Taylor knew the fabric manipulator's performances had become somewhat popular recently. It was a rare opportunity to see a cape at work without danger. The irony.

She blinked hard as she took in the figure protecting the people. It looked to be an eight-foot-tall neon pink gorilla. She blinked again to make sure she was seeing correctly before mentally shaking it off.

Parian's work she guessed.

It was also probably why the situation hadn't erupted into violence. Outnumbered as she was, having to protect civilians, not to mention she didn't exactly have much of a reputation as a fighter. Parian didn't have a lot of options here.

Luckily for the rogue, she and Kichi were here to even the odds. Taylor just hoped that it would be enough.

"Well, this looks like it's about to go badly," mused the toad to her right.

Taylor nodded in distracted agreement, her mind churning through their options.

"Got a plan sis?"

Taylor sighed, ignoring the nickname with long practice, and eased out of her crouch.

"Yeah, kind of. It's not great though."

"Oh? Let's hear it then."

"Ideally, we'd be able to ambush them and take out one of the capes before the fight gets underway. That's not really an option though with Alabaster and the unpowered guys ready to threaten the civilians. We're going to have to use our ambush to take them out first. Then you and I will focus on Rune and Alabaster."

"Alabaster? That the albino down there?"

Taylor nodded in confirmation to her partner. "Yeah, I couldn't remember until I saw him. He's a bit odd. At first, people thought he was a lopsided brute. It happens sometimes," she explained, "where a hero or villain gets more strength than durability or vice versa. He's really hard to permanently damage, but he's no stronger than anyone else. But, that didn't hold up to what people saw of his fights," Taylor said. "He's not any harder to damage than a normal person is either. However, no matter what you do to him, he seems to bounce back in a few seconds, perfectly healthy."

Her partner hummed thoughtfully. "Tricky," was his reply as he digested the information.

Taylor snorted at the understatement before elaborating on what she knew of his power. The words floated across her conscious as she recalled long nights spent trawling through websites and the PHO researching the local players.

"It was eventually theorized that his power is actually a breaker state as opposed to a being a brute. A sort of reset button whenever he gets hurt. Not," she continued, "that it matters all that much. The point is, he's a going to be an obstacle, and our best bet is to probably keep him out of the action as opposed to trying to keep him down."

"Alright," the toad spoke thoughtfully, "why focus on him and the girl? Isn't Hookwolf the main threat?"

Taylor acknowledged his point with a nod but rebutted, "Rune's definitely a heavy hitter, but in a different way than Hookwolf. She's a glass cannon. We can take her out of the fight easier than Hookwolf. We have to do it quickly though, those slabs of concrete she has orbiting her aren't for show. She doesn't just throw them, she has complete control."

"Right. What do we do about Hookwolf then?"

"I'm going have to call in reinforcements. Hopefully, it will be enough to stall until we can take care of the others."

"Right." The orange battle toad looked over to his partner, "good plan sis."

Taylor smiled slightly in response allowing some of her tension to ease. She did her best to mentally prepare herself for action. This would be her first cape fight, she couldn't help the butterflies in her stomach at the thought.

She didn't much look the part she thought with chagrin as the caught her reflection in the window of the next building over. She was clad in loose dark gray sweatpants and a sleeveless hoody of matching color with the hood pulled up. It offered a lot in mobility, but not much in the way of protection or heroicness.

The only thing that made her look more like a cape and less like someone going to the gym was her 'graduation presents'. The toad's name for the gifts they'd given her for surviving their little boot camp from hell.

The clan had given her a mesh bodysuit that she wore under her sweats. It protected her from her thighs and ended in sleeves at her biceps. It was only visible on her arms and if one looked close enough, her collar underneath the hoodie. It wouldn't do much against blunt trauma, but it would hopefully keep her from getting stabbed.

The honorable elders had given her a mask, a fitting gift once they understood the importance of such things in her world. It was an odd thing. It covered her entire face and was completely featureless. The mask was colored a deep green. The only decoration on the mask itself was a kanji, colored a dark red. When she'd asked Kichi later what it meant, he'd told her it said 'Oil' and that it marked her as an affiliate of the toads.

Her gaze found the weapon hanging horizontally at the small of her reflection's back. Taylor didn't know the specifics of what let the mask stay on her face or how she saw and breathed through it when there were no openings.

Fukasaku had only grinned mischievously when she'd asked. Taylor assumed that meant it had something to do with those seals of his that she couldn't make heads or tails of. Seemed a bit too much like magic for her to wrap her head around. Since there wasn't really a chance that she could use it any way she supposed it was a moot point.

She fingered the blade at her back. Her final gift. That had been a gift from Kichi.

It was a tanto in the same style as his own, only sized for her. She didn't know much about weapons or what went into creating them, but even someone as ignorant as her could tell that it was beautiful. Probably much too fine a weapon for an amateur like herself, no matter that Kichi had taken it upon himself to train her. She fingered the top of the hilt which ended in an open ring. She would have preferred something less lethal than a blade truthfully. She'd have to figure something out for that later.

A flare of urgency came from the toad to her side and Taylor felt herself flush behind her mask. Right, people to save. She was stalling.

Nodding at the toad in thanks, she climbed onto his back with practiced ease and felt the strange sensation as he used his energy to make sure she wouldn't fall off. This would be a larger than usual jump and she didn't want any mistakes, especially when jumping off of a rooftop.

"Wind or water?" Kichi asked as she settled herself.

Taylor looked critically at Alabaster and his thugs. It looked like they were gearing up for something. Clearly, Hookwolf's talk with Parian wasn't going anywhere.

There was no time left for thought, just action.

"Wind, harder to see coming." Her voice was steady, belying her nervousness.

She felt anticipation rising up from Kichi as he prepared his attack. Taylor felt a smile curve her lips as she immersed herself in his easy confidence and anticipation, shedding her nervousness.

"Wind Style: Air Bullets," Gamakichi spat out orbs of compressed air toward the gangsters as they leaped over the roof into the group below.

Taylor tracked the vague distortions with her eyes that were the only sign of his attack.

With a loud crash, the air bullets detonated as they impacted into the group.

Taylor felt herself wince as she heard the loud shouts of pain that came from the group. That was a bit more powerful than she'd thought it would be. Some of those people had definitely broken something.

Was it okay if they were Nazis?

With a crash, they landed between Hookwolf and Parian.

As she worked to regain control of her breathing from the rush of the jump she wondered what it looked like from their point of view. All of a sudden, half their group had been taken out of commission from an unknown attack. Then out of nowhere a gigantic toad and his rider appeared out of nowhere.

Judging from the angry curses as the Empire cape jumped away from where they'd landed, she had shocked them.

"They did Nazi that coming."

…

Really? Really Kichi?

Taylor held off a groan, just barely. The image they'd just created was completely destroyed. So distracted by his awful joke she didn't notice when a handful of bricks that sped towards them with unnatural speed. Thankfully despite his awful taste in jokes, Gamakichi was an experienced fighter and hoped out of the way before they could get hurt.

Any gratitude she had for her partner was washed away at his next comment.

"Relax," he told the enraged girl floating above them with a cheeky grin, "it was a joke, not a dick. Don't take it so hard."

Taylor didn't bother holding back her groan this time.

What the fuck.

They just went from Big Damn Heroes to Big Damn Morons in under three jokes. It must have been a record.

Whatever angry response Rune might have had was interrupted as Hookwolf held up a fist. She silenced herself but if the tight fists and shaking shoulders were any indications, Rune was anything but happy about it.

Taylor used their exchange to look at the results of Gamakichi's attack, desperate to remain focused on the highly dangerous situation she was in and ignore Kichi's ill-timed humor. Maybe he could afford to mess around with as powerful and experienced as he was. But she didn't have that luxury.

The unpowered gang members were down. Splayed awkwardly on the ground, one or two of them had limbs bent in ways that Taylor was confident that they shouldn't bend. Definitely broken. She noted that Alabaster was already getting back on his feet no worse for wear.

Irritating, but expected.

Thankfully in the chaos of her arrival, the civilians had made their escape. It was one less problem to worry about, and it gave them a potential ally. She watched as the pink gorilla lumbered over to the doll girl's side.

Taylor nodded reassuringly at Parian. She didn't want the cloth manipulator to think that she was yet another problem.

She lept off the toad, placing herself in the way of Hookwolf who was making his way toward them. He looked supremely unconcerned at the sight of a new and unknown cape. Nothing but confident. He also looked extremely pissed if the increased number of metal blades and hooks erupting from his body were any sort of indicator.

"Who the fuck are you?"

His voice was guttural. Deep, fitting a man his size but rough like broken glass. His voice sounding almost like it was reverberating through the grinding and screeching of metal.

Taylor turned her attention back to Hookwolf who'd spoken.

Wow, he really was bigger up close.

She could see now that he had two tattoos on his biceps. E88 on his right and a wolf over a swastika on his left.

Charming.

"Do you know who you're fucking with? You square up against the Empire, fuck with us when we're trying to conduct some business. Telling stupid jokes, and your stupid frog projection is dressed up like a chink. Do you have a death wish you little punk?"

The empire cape seemed trapped between confused at her sheer audacity and enraged.

Taylor was peripherally aware of Rune approaching from the side, debris picking up speed as is rotated around her ominously, a reflection of her suppressed anger. Alabaster stood back as well, they were waiting on Hookwolf's signal.

"Japanese," she corrected as she settled a hand on Kichi's side to stifle his irritation at the frog comment. He'd said enough for now.

"And he's a toad by the way. I wouldn't call him a frog, it irritates him."

Hookwolf's irritated snort informed her of how little he cared about that.

"Besides, three on one? I guess it just seemed a little unfair to me."

She sent the impression of Kichi going after Rune through their bond. She didn't really have a way to get at the robed girl and having her throwing stuff at them from above would be nothing short of disastrous. Alabaster would be tricky, but she could probably hold him off for a bit.

Hopefully.

Hookwolf snarled. He seemed completely fed up with the situation at hand.

"Alright look you little brat. Either get lost now or get hurt. You're gonna get yours for what you've done, but at least you'll have a head start."

The powerfully built man began to bristle with an obscene amount of metal. His voice changed as he spoke again. It was a horrible grating shriek of metal on metal.

"Leave so we can finish our talk to Parian about the benefits of joining the Empire, or I go through you and we finish our business anyways."

Taylor cocked her head thoughtfully as though she were considering it as she began mustering her energy. She did her best to empty herself of fear and ignore the cold sweat on her back.

She sent the okay for Kichi to attack as she brought her hands together in front of her chest.

Chaos reigned.

* * *

AN - Thanks everyone who took the time to review. Whatever bug going on with FF is fixed now so I can actually see them. The feed back is much appreciated, hope you all are enjoying the story thus far.


	8. Impressions 2-3

AN - Huge thanks to everyone that took the time to review. Criticism, encouragement, etc... it's all very useful and appreciated. So really, thanks a lot. It's good to know some people seem interested in this. Alright, without further ado, the fight!

* * *

Impressions 2.3

Hookwolf didn't give her much time. When she'd started her seals instead of answering him he started rushing towards her. The veteran cape was to experienced to just sit and let an unkown act unonctented, the Empire enforcer erupted in a storm of steel, his body disappearing into a grotesque and horrifying wave of metal death. He was a tornado of shifting, grinding metal barbs, blades, and hooks steaming towards the would be hero with ill intent.

It was only by the slimmest of margins that Taylor was able to refrain from flinching and stumbling over her seals. She was peripherally aware of the other Empire capes attacking her as well.

She wasn't worried. Not about them at least.

Gamakichi was lightning in motion. His tongue lashed out at insane speeds, impacting into Alabaster's chest and sending him flying backward.

Taylor had seen him crack stone with his tongue. Extreme durability or not, that had to hurt.

Her partner hadn't stopped there. Before his tongue had even fully retracted he'd hopped between her and Rune, deflecting a hail of bricks with a skillful display of blade work that would have left Taylor green with envy in any other situation. He followed it up with a high pressured blast of water toward the hovering telekenitic. The crushing blast of water sped through the air causing the robed girl to give a startled shout and defend herself with one of the heavier objects under her control. The blast put a large dent into the dumpster and sending it spiraling away briefly before Rune was able to reassert control and put it back into her orbit.

Taylor had no more time to take it in further. Hookwolf was closing in fast. He had reacted quicker than she'd expected. She had thought he'd be more confused than threatened at her seemingly innocuous hand gestures. A dangerous assumption in retrospect. Ge'd survived this long for a reason and it wasn't just because he got lucky in the power lottery.

Thankfully, her hands were faster still.

Taylor slammed her hand in the ground causing the now familiar archaic symbols to spread from her palm at the point of impact. A huge amount of smoke erupted as her new summon crossed dimensions and made the trip to her world.

Taylor felt a wave of lethargy as a rush of energy left her, fueling the summoning of her chosen toad. A new presence bloomed to life in her consciousness.

This was the main weakness of her power. Summoning the toads cost energy. The stronger the toad, a correspondingly higher energy cost was required. As she was now, she couldn't hope to summon someone like Gamabunta, not without some serious consequences. Fukasaku theorized that as she got more used to her power, practicing with it and exhausting it, she'd become more resistant to the negative effects.

Taylor had been a little frustrated at that at first, but, at the elder's chiding simply chose to be grateful that she would be able to mitigate this weakness through practice. Besides, how often would she need to call upon the strength of someone like Gamabunta?

She had finished the summoning just in time. Hookwolf, now the size of a large van, a mass of shifting, screaming metal slammed into the smoke like a man-made natural disaster.

The sound was immense. A huge crashing of metal on metal. It was a screeching grinding and an echoing boom all at once. It wasn't too dissimilar from how she imagined a train would sound like as it flew off the tracks.

The smoke dissipated to reveal Hookwolf being held back by a massive toad standing at about 15-feet. Clad in a dense, extremely tough, if incomplete set of samurai armor consisting of a cuirass and arm guards, the toad was managing to hold back the shifting tide of metal that was Hookwolf.

Taylor nodded curtly in greeting as she jumped off the 15-foot toad who was occupied with trying to wrestle the shifting form of Hookwolf into submission.

Gama, one of the first toads she'd met while learning to summon more than just Kichi. He had been extremely patient with her early fumbled attempts at using her power. Even if communication had been a bit of a chore, he was one of the toads incapable of human speech, Taylor had warmed to him quickly.

In a lot of way's Gama was Kichi's opposite. Gamakichi was a flexible, offensive fighter. He relied primarily on agility, swordsmanship, and his elemental attacks. Gama, in turn, focused on defense. Boasting great strength and hand to hand skills, in concert with his armor, Taylor picked him to be able to hold off Hookwolf with relatively low risk of injury while they dealt with the other capes.

As she turned away from the battling titans Taylor just hoped that Gama would be enough.

In the distance, she could hear crashes as Gamakichi fought against Rune. She didn't dare look. As much as she wanted to make sure Kichi was doing okay, she didn't dare look away from the approaching albino cape. She would just have to trust in his skill.

Taylor grimaced when she noticed Alabaster making his way toward Parian. The doll girl was frozen, not making a move to defend herself. Her massive pink gorilla stood stock still at her side, the paralyzed cape seemingly not capable of controlling the construct for anything productive at the moment.

Parian was a rogue by choice. She wasn't a fighter. Taylor wouldn't be surprised to learn that this was her first fight using her powers, and she didn't have the training that the toads afforded Taylor. Her training with the toads might have only been happening for about four months so far, but Taylor suspected that it was four months longer than Parian had spent training to fight. With that thought in mind, Taylor hurried to place herself between the frozen doll girl and the approaching villain.

She nodded in what she hoped was a reassuring manner to the neutral cape.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of him."

It wasn't exactly inventive, or reassuring probably, but Taylor didn't know what else to say. She was more focused on the albino cape who looked amused as she planted herself between him and his goal.

The Empire cape looked carefree as he approached. As if he had no care in the world. Taylor was half surprised he wasn't whistling a jaunty tune as he approached. He was dressed in an expensive looking suit, the only thing that hinted at a costume was his mask, covering the upper part of his face, black, in sharp contrast with the milky white color of his skin. He casually flipped the large blade she had seen him wielding earlier between his hands.

Taylor gripped the hilt of her own blade in response, the gift from Gamakichi resting heavily at her back. Alabaster came to a stop about five feet from her, examining her critically. He grinned.

"I'm not gonna try to talk you out of this girl. I don't know who you are, and I don't care. You're in our way and that's enough for me."

Taylor found herself surprised at the roughness of his voice, a stark contrast to his fashionable appearance. The pale man's smile widened and his voice rose with his excitment.

"Just do me a favor. Try and scream for me!"

With that, he lunged at her in a sprint.

Taylor barely freed her blade from the sheath quick enough to block his overhand chop. She felt the shock of the blow shoot through her arm. Strong, but not superhuman. He was still a fully grown adult man with at least 30 pounds on her though. Taylor wasn't given much time to think after that. The way Alabaster fought was insane. He'd clearly had some skill with his blade, but he fought like a berserker. Pure offense. Alabaster made no attempt to defend himself at all as he hurled himself carelessly against her blade. It was all she could to defend. Taylor had some training in her weapon, but nothing had prepared her for someone who fought so recklessly.

Desperate, instead of blocking the next attack, she dodged the side and lashed out. Her blade flicked through the air and licked at the villainous cape, giving him a long shallow slice on the arm.

It caused a brief lull in the fight. Alabaster stepped back and examined the cut on his arm almost curiously before smirking at her. His body seemed to flicker and the wound disappeared, revealing unblemished flesh beneath the large cut on his formerly pristine suit.

So… breaker effect was looking more and more likely. She grimaced. Kichi was right, this was gonna be tricky.

She couldn't stay on the defensive. It would only delay the inevitable. Had to hurt him. Find the limit to his power. There was always a limit.

She led with a stab at his gut. With a side-stepping duck under the retaliatory attack she slashed at his leg, knocking him down to one knee with a grunt of pain. She took that time to gain some distance and tried to recover her breath. He'd already erased the damage by the time she got into position.

Alabaster growled under his breath as he turned to face her.

"You're gonna regret that kid."

Taylor had no idea how long they'd been going at it. Exchanging blows, searching for openings. She had no time for fear or hesitation, reacting on instinct as much as on training. The stalemate couldn't last. She'd only been using her blade for a few months and his ability to ignore damage was too great an advantage. Eventually she was going to make a mistake, and unlike him, she wouldn't be able to just walk away from it unscathed.

Finally, during the next exchange, he hit with a slash at her stomach. She gasped in shock and pain. The force of the blow stole the breath from her lungs. Taylor stumbled backward, hand grasping instinctively at her stomach to staunch the blood flow.

Wait. Dry.

She looked down at her stomach patting frantically looking for her wound. She parted the ripped sweatshirt to reveal the mesh body armor beneath it. In the chaos she'd forgotten about it. Taylor fought to hold back a gasp of relief. She was never more thankful for the toad's foresight as she was now.

"Interesting," Alabaster spoke, sounding mildly impressed. "This will be more fun than I thought."

With that, the fight was resumed.

She gasped in pain as a she was unable to fully dodge a vicious thrust of Alabaster's broad knife. Heat radiated from her unprotected forearm as flesh parted under the razor sharp blade. The wound was already weeping blood, obscuring the injury and making it hard for her get an idea of just how bad the cut was. It was on the outside of her arm, opposite the tattoo her power had given her on her inner arm. Thankfully it wasn't the arm holding her tanto, the blood was already pooling into her palm. It would have made keeping a firm grip on her weapon nearly impossible.

She answered with a swipe of her own, scoring a hit at his shoulder.

There was no time to panic and falter. Adrenaline and fear helped her stay the course rather than break down at the injury. That and remembering that she was the only thing between this psycho and a girl afraid for her life.

On and on it went. Taylor found herself lost in a haze of attack and reaction. Defnse and relatiation. Time lost meaning, her focus soley on the other capes knife as she felt herself starting to pant with exertion. The three summonings today and the extended fight. Taylor bit her lip she watched the albino flicker again, restoring himself. She couldn't keep this up. If nothing changed then she would lose. It was an inevitability.

Taylor thought furiously as she kept a wary eye on her opponent. His previously immaculate suit was in tatters, but the flesh beneath remained unblemeshed and healthy.

She was starting to get a bead on his power. He never let a wound last more than a few seconds. Whatever he was doing, sending the wounds to a different dimension, healing, reverting time's effect on his body. She wasn't sure of the exact detail, too many exotic possibilities. Luckily for her, she didn't need to know the details to understand the function. Whatever it was, Alabaster had a short limit on how long he could let his wounds last. Maybe he didn't even control it, maybe it was just an automatic reaction.

Total restoration from any and all attacks after just a few seconds. What a horrifying power. Every power had a limit though. A weakness. It was just one of those rules of nature as far as anyone could tell. Nobody was invcinible, except maybe Scion. And Alabaster was no scion.

Taylor clenched her fist, the grip of her blade creaking slightly. He could erase any damage done to him after a few seconds? Reset the clock just like that? Fine then. She would just have to hit him with something that lasted longer than he could heal.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Alabaster.

"You can't keep this up girl. I'll commend you for lasting this long, but sooner or later you're going to slip up."

He sounded supremely confident. As if the result of their fight was already written in stone. She fucking hated him for that. Now that she had real power, after everything that had happened at Winslow, Taylor found that she had something of a distaste for people just writing her off.

She raised her blade in front of her, arms steady despite her exhaustion and ignored the older cape's taunting. Her gaze drifted to the ring at the end of the hilt of her blade. It was desperate, but it could work. Hell Taylor thought as she continued to struggle and regulate her breathing, she was starting to feel pretty desperate. She needed an opening though.

Alabaster's eyes narrowed when he didn't get a response. Glaring, he approached blade at the ready.

Taylor fought to focus past the burn in her arm and the exhaustion. She needed to be completely focused. The Empire cape attacked with a powerful overhead chop. Simple and brutal. Just what she was coming to expect from the man. She stepped into the blow, blade raised to block when her foot slipped. Panicked and with her stance disrupted Taylor found herself unable to block.

She couldn't tear her eyes away from the approaching blade. There was nothing she could do. She tried anyways, throwing herself backward in a futile attempt to dodge when the blade jerked to a halt before it could hit her.

"What the fuck?"

Alabaster's shocked rage drew her attention away from the blade and onto the struggling cape. Her eyes took in the sight before her, her mind struggling to make sense of that was happening. Alabaster's arm was being held back from impaling her by a taut length of red ribbon. Confused, Taylor followed the trail of the ribbon over to Parian, standing where they'd left her, hand outstretched and controlling the floating fabric with her power. Briefly Taylor let herself wonder what happened to Parian's gorilla doll.

It wasn't until an ugly red flush stained Alabaster's paper skin as he turned to rail at the interruption that Taylor recognized her mistake.

Fuck.

What was she doing? She wouldn't get a better opportunity. She acted, not giving herself time to fully process what had just happened. There wasn't any time and she doubted she'd get such a clear chance again, she could be relieved and thankful later.

While Alabaster was busy spewing threats at Parian, Taylor made her move.

She lashed out once more. Not with her blade though. Her unoccupied hand had been cupped, held against her side to avoid detection. The oozing cut had still been bleeding freely this whole time, dripping down her arm. The Nazi gave a startled curse as he got a handful of blood in his eyes, temporarily blinding him. She took advantage as the albino cape stumbled backward rubbing at his eyes, her leg shot out, kicking him between his legs. His startled swearing turned into a surprisingly high pitched screech. She could practically hear Kichi in the back of her head making a joke about him being an alto. Either way, the albino was in no state to retaliate.

Before her foot returned to the ground she'd already reached for the ring at the end of her blade. Giving it a sharp pull it came free from the hilt, still attached to the blade by a wire, the spool mechanism was hidden inside the hilt of the blade. Stepping behind him quickly before he could recover, Taylor looped the garrote around his neck and pulled with as hard as she could. He resisted immediately, the pain between his legs forgotten. He flickered, the blood and his eyes and the pain in his legs erased as easily as every other injury he'd taken today. It wasn't enough. While he might have had slightly more breath than he did previously, it didn't remove the pressure from his neck. His hands scrabbled uselessly, trying to lessen the pressure.

Taylor was panting as she made sure not to ease her grip, pulling harder despite her exhaustion. It was sickening, watching his attempts become more and more ineffectual. His body flickering with his power and resetting the clock, giving him an ever diminishing lung full of air. He let out awful, choking gasps. After what felt like a lifetime Alabaster finally slowed, gurgling as he fought feebly for breath. At long last, after what seemed like an eternity, the albino cape stilled as he entered unconsciousness.

Taylor released him immediately. Choking for breath from her recent exertions as she stumbled away from the prone body. It had been a horrific fight. His power didn't lend itself to a clean confrontation. She reached out with a shaky hand, placing it against his neck feeling a thready pulse. Taylor sighed in audible relief.

The toad summoner fell into a sitting position as she fought to bring her raging emotions under control. It was only after the immediate danger had passed that she realized the insanity of what had just occurred. She had been almost majorly injured multiple times. Almost worse than that a few times as well.

When she had gotten her powers she had made sure to do detailed research into everything cape related. It had not prepared her for the reality of her first fight with another cape.

Looking at the downed man as she got her breath under control, she winced at the horrible purple bruise around his neck. It seemed he had to be conscious to activate his power. Taylor shuddered as she looked at the ropey mass of mangled flesh. The fact that he'd likely be perfectly healthy a few seconds after regaining consciousness was only helping slightly.

Belatedly she realized that there were still two other capes to deal with, and that she could no longer hear the crashing sound from Kichi's fight with Rune. Turning her head frantically she felt relief suffuse through her, replacing the brief surge of panic. Her partner was sheathing his blade, just wrapping up his own fight. On the ground in front of him was Rune. She was covered in a clear blue viscous fluid that the telekenetic seemed to be struggling to move in.

Taylor's spirits lifeted a little as she recognized it as the result of his Starch Syrup Gun attack. Stupid name, but a highly effective attack. It was like getting shot by a beanbag gun, only instead of a beanbag round, it was dense, sticky water. Like trying to move underwater whilst wearing a metal suit.

She returned the thumbs up to Kichi who'd seen her looking. She rolled her eyes when the toad pulled out another of his cigarettes from who knows where. As if reading her mind, he looked up to give her a cocky smirk that shifted into something horrified and enraged all in one. With a mighty leap, he jumped toward her shouting.

"Watch out! Behind you!"

Taylor blinked in confusion. That wasn't Kichi. Not unless he randomly started to sound like a girl. She turned to the sound, Parian was pointing behind her frantically.

Finally reacting, Taylor turned to face what had alarmed the others. She found her eyes widening as she took in what they had been trying to warn her about. Hookwolf, somehow having gotten past Gama was lunging at her, body in mid-air, his shifting metallic form in a vaguely lupine shape that was his namesake.

With a startled shriek she lifted her tanto in front of her, a feeble attempt to ward him off. It might as well been a toothpick. She closed her eyes and braced herself.

…

One second. Two.

Nothing.

Finally, hesitantly, Taylor opened one of her eyes. At the sight that greeted her, her other eye followed the first, open wide to their limits. If she hadn't been wearing a mask, Taylor was pretty sure her jaw would have dropped.

Hanging in front of her, frozen in mid-air was Hookwolf.

What…?

Her brain couldn't comprehend the impossibility before her.

"Heel. Stay. Good boy."

The voice shook her from inaction. Taylor tensed at the unfamiliar voice, urging her tired body to defend itself.

A figure stepped out behind the frozen metal monstrosity. Clad in a skintight white costume, with glossy white armor paneling decorated in gray clocks. Some of them shifting, moving on his costume. All telling a different time.

A white, faceless helmet turned down to face her.

They stared at each other awkwardly for a long moment, Taylor was unsure of what to say. Thankfully, she didn't have to struggle for long.

"Sup?"

He spoke cheerfully as if he hadn't just saved her life, giving her a half wave in greeting.

Taylor found herself once again struggling for something to say. Not knowing what else to do, she waved weakly in response.


	9. Interlude 2-b: Clockblocker

2.b Interlude: Clockblocker

"He stands, tall and resolute. Resplendent in his white armor. The man, the myth, the legend, Clockblocker! Together with his partner in justice, Vista, the head of his loyal team of heroes, The Minutemen."

An extremely put-upon sigh interrupted the monologue. Dennis very gamely ignored it and soldiered on.

"Together, the two make up the fiercest crime-fighting duo in Brockton Bay. Still, they remain vigilant, ever ready to act out in the face of injustice! Criminals, perhaps aware of Clockblocker's presence on these mean streets, seemed to be laying low. They are all too aware that whenever Clockblocker struck, crime stood still."

Dennis took a moment to appreciate that line. He'd have to remember it the next time he saw some action.

"Not, the heroic figure in white mused aloud as he patrolled with his partner, that he blamed the vile criminal element. No, when facing the might of Clockblocker and Vista, it was only reasonable that the scum of Brockton found discretion to be the better part of valor. For with their mighty powers, they were able to control two of the primordial forces of the universe, Space and Time. Not just control, no these mighty heroes bent them over the table and fu- Ow!"

Dennis found himself disorientated as what should have been just a single step forward led to him somehow landing three feet to his left and about a foot in the air causing the Ward to stumble awkwardly with a startled shout, shin harshly banging against an exposed pipe.

"Why?" He asked piteously as he turned to face his fellow ward.

Vista, he noticed, didn't seem at all sorry.

"Two reasons," the space warper replied, "one, you're an idiot."

Ouch. Before he could follow that thought further the space-warper continued.

"And two, I think I got something."

Dennis looked around. They'd been using Vista's power to roof hop for their patrol. There was nothing to see.

Wait.

"Are you using your powers to look ahead?"

A smug grin appeared beneath the green visor of his companion in lieu of a response.

"Yep, we got trouble too." She was already gesturing as she spoke, warping space for their next jump.

"Who would be crazy enough to start a fight here?" He wondered aloud as his partner worked her magic. "ABB maybe, but reports indicate Lung's been busy getting his new capes settled in. No one else has the muscle to go after Kaiser."

Done employing her ability, Vista gestured for him to follow as she took a step forward, appearing three rooftops down and 4 blocks over.

Dennis followed after her, waiting for an answer.

Rather than reply verbally, she pointed toward the edge of the rooftop as she approached it herself.

Dennis peered over the edge of the roof his eyes widened at what he saw. Hookwolf, Rune, and Alabaster. He felt his gut clench as he saw what they were doing. Parian, she wasn't a Ward, or even a hero. However, she wasn't a villain either. In a town like Brockton Bay, that was almost as good as an ally.

"This is bad," he said, all traces of his prior levity gone and replaced with a cool professionalism that likely would have surprised those less familiar with him.

He looked over at Vista, the youngest, and paradoxically, most experienced Ward met his gaze and nodded in agreement. They were on the same page.

Activating his radio he spoke, "Control, we have a high priority situation at our location. Hookwolf, Alabaster, and Rune present on the scene. They are menacing civilians and seem to be after Parian."

Miss Militia's voice answered his report after a long pause, "Does violence appear to be imminent?" Her voice was cool and professional, not asking any extraneous questions, trusting her wards.

Miss Militia? Wasn't Kid Win on mission control today? Maybe it got kicked up the ladder with mention of Hookwolf?

Vista answered while he was distracted. "No, not yet. They seem to be talking for the most part. She has one of those balloon animals of hers protecting the civilians, but she seems to be defenseless otherwise. If it takes a turn for the worse she's as good as defenseless. Please note, whatever's going on, it's getting pretty heated."

Further conversation was interrupted by a new arrival.

"What the fuck?"

He barely managed to strangle the exclamation, turning the instinctive shout of surprise into a choked whisper.

Miss Militia's voice sharpened as she demanded an explanation, "What is it?"

"Alabaster and a group of non-powered henchmen were hit with blasts of unknown energy." Vista's voice was controlled as she observed the scene.

Dennis envied her that because his wasn't at all.

"One, possibly two capes, is that giant frog? What the hell?"

There was a long silence over the communications as Miss Militia absorbed that information.

"Clockblocker, if this is one of your jokes –"

She was interrupted before Clockblocker could act on his indignation.

"Not a joke. Possibly case 53 in the form of a giant frog, and another person was riding on it. They appeared to have jumped from an adjacent rooftop."

Dennis switched off his comm set and turned to his fellow ward.

"Am I really that bad?"

Vista's deadpan stare did little to soothe any concerns he might have had about how other's perceived him.

"Situation?"

Dennis shook off the distracting thoughts.

Right, imminent fight about to go down. There was work to do. Turning his attention back to the situation at hand Clockblocker answered, "Turning south quick. Hookwolf's talking to the new cape- shit, no never mind they're fighting. Hookwolf's attacking the unknown cape, the frog's attacked Rune and Alabaster. Permission to engage."

He was tense, ready to flank the Empire capes as soon as he got the all clear. It took all of his effort to remain out of the action, to do the smart thing and follow protocol when all he wanted was to help.

The reply was immediate. As disappointing as it was expected.

"Negative, rerouting Dauntless to your position. He should reach you in about 5 minutes. Under no circumstances are either of you to get anywhere near Hookwolf."

Dennis ground his teeth together, forcing himself not to answer. It was expected, Hookwolf was a murderer and a Birdcage candidate. That didn't make it any easier to watch some unknown capes fight the villains while they watched uselessly.

A surprised inhalation from Vista turned his attention back to the confrontation going on the street below.

Wow.

For perhaps the first time Dennis found himself not knowing what to say.

Thankfully Missy picked up the slack for him.

"I think we can rule out the frog as a Case 53. The other cape just created another one, it's wrestling with Hookwolf." She paused as she tried to figure out how to describe it. "It's really big" she finished lamely.

Well, he thought dumbly, she wasn't wrong. The thing must be nearing 15-feet in height.

"Dauntless ran into trouble, they had Cricket and Stormtiger nearby. I've already sent Assault and Battery in your direction. Dauntless will continue when able, what's your situation?" Miss Militia's voice was tight as she gave the bad news.

Dennis barely withheld a scathing comment towards his superior. Logically he knew none of this was her fault, and as far as the Protectorate was concerned, Miss Militia was following protocol to the letter. That didn't make sitting on the sidelines of a cape fight being completely useless any easier to swallow. In this instance, her concern felt more cloying and infuriating than reassuring.

"Keep in communication Wards. What can you tell us?"

Right, had to pay attention.

"The bigger frog is wrestling it out with Hookwolf, Parian's construct is on its way to help out. The smaller one is fighting Rune. Note, it is capable of blasts of water and what appears to be wind, also wielding a large knife."

Once again he was thankful for Vista. Her experience shone through as she gave her report in a calm and orderly manner.

"Alabaster was going for Parian," Dennis added, "the unknown cape is stopping him, and wow. They are engaged in a pretty savage knife fight. They might not know about Alabaster's power."

He hissed as he saw the fight continue.

"Add a possible brute rating to the new cape, either that or armor. They just took a big blow to the stomach from Alabaster's knife and continued fighting."

He couldn't tear his eyes from the two fighters. Distantly he hoped Missy was paying attention to the toad's fights because he certainly wasn't. He'd seen some action of course. Ward or not, this was still Brockton Bay and while the Youth Guard could get as loud as they wanted, there were certain realities that came with being a hero in a city like this. Dennis had been in a scrape or three. He had never seen anything quite like this. Their knives flashed like liquid silver, the speed with which they attacked and defended was intimidating. Never was he more glad that his power only required a touch to end any fight in his favor.

"Rune's down."

Vista's report broke the spell.

"Details?" Miss Militia's response was immediate.

"The frog hit her with some sort of, I don't know how to describe it. It looks like water, but it seems sticky or something. She's having trouble moving. But she doesn't look seriously injured."

Dennis looked over and realized she was right. Huh, neat. He felt a smirk come over his face at the sight even if he didn't have anything to do with it.

Nazi's really did look best when they were on the ground.

A quiet curse interrupted his amusement and he jerked his head, searching for what had caused Vista. He grimaced at the sight, the unknown cape on the ground with Alabaster's knife over her head, restrained only by Parian. It didn't take a genius to work out what had happened, thankfully the rogue had reacted, and wow.

Holy shit that was brutal.

"Uhh… Alabaster's down. The frog cape had a wire hidden in the hilt of their blade, they used it to choke him out. Outlasted his power." His voice was carefully level.

"Status?"

Before he could answer he saw Vista violently gesturing to the other end of the street.

Crap, he'd forgotten about Hookwolf. He followed her direction, fists clenching involuntarily at what he saw. Hookwolf had torn into the gorilla Parian had made, eviscerating it with his power. The deflating animal had gotten tangled up with the giant frog, distracting the thing long enough to allow the Nazi to break free and go after the other cape.

Fuck, it looked like he was going for the cape, who wasn't in any position to defend himself after fighting Alabaster.

"Start," he told Vista briskly. She nodded in response, nothing more needed to be said. Might as well try one more time.

"Hookwolf's free, going after the cape. Permission to engage."

"Denied, reinforcements are nearly there. I'm sorry Clockblocker."

He was going to get in so much trouble for this.

"Fuck."

He hated this kind of stuff, this bureaucratic red tape protocol bullshit that stopped them from actually helping people. Had he know this was what the wards were going to be like…

Not the time.

"I'm sorry bzzt, you're bzzt breazzzt up."

With that, he turned off his radio and turned to his partner.

"You know our radios don't have that problem right?" Vista said, tone more conversational than disproving as she worked her power to make them a pathway.

"Oops?"

The female Ward rolled her eyes in reply and finished warping the space to their advantage. She nodded, giving him the go ahead.

With a deep, fortifying breath, Dennis took a step forward and found himself on the street they'd been observing, inches away from Hookwolf. Forcing himself not to give into his natural instinct which was to run the fuck in the opposite direction, he jabbed his hand out and felt his power take hold. Immediate relief followed at the sight of his powers effect.

Inviolable they called it during his power testing. Basically a fancy way of saying 'can't be fucked with'. An ultimate trump card at his fingertips. He was proud of his power's effectiveness there was no denying it. He'd still rather kiss a table saw than try to use it on Hookwolf unless there was literally any other option.

Dennis did his best to make sure the sigh of relief couldn't be heard by the mystery cape he'd saved.

"Heel. Stay. Good boy."

There, that sounded confident right?

The time-stopping Ward stepped around the Empire enforcer, sparing an idle thought towards the hope that the new cape couldn't see his legs shaking.

He got his first real glance at the frog guy and was surprised to note that it was actually a frog girl. He floundered for something to say. He somehow thought shouting "You're a girl?" wouldn't win him any favors.

The newly identified as female cape shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

Oh, right. They'd been staring at each other for a while now. Awkward.

"Sup?" He said with a wave in her direction.

And Armsmaster thought he couldn't take things seriously. Showed him, Dennis thought as he watched the cape wave back limply. He'd made first contact with a new cape and it didn't turn to violence. Really, he was already doing better than most. First meetings between capes were often a volatile experience.

The other cape finally managed to collect herself, and wow she was tall. Huh, skinny too. Further thoughts stalled as he caught sight of the numerous cuts all over her costume. It looked like her only actual injury was a pretty big cut on her forearm, but if she hadn't been wearing armor, and he could see now that it was armor that was responsible for her continued health and not some sort of brute power, she would have been dead twice over. He didn't try to stop the feeling of shame from not acting sooner.

"So, Clockblocker right?"

Broken out of his unhelpful thoughts he focused on the cape in front of him.

"Yep! Vista too," he added, seeing the girl in front of him jump in surprise, assuming that his partner had followed him down to street level.

A cheerful hello from behind him proved his guess correct.

"Oh, so that's how you got down here so fast," she muttered, almost to herself.

Dennis smiled behind his mask, she was quick. It was probably an obvious conclusion, but in his experience, people who just got out of a chaotic and violent situation like the one she'd been in were rarely so logical.

Any further conversation was interrupted by the arrival two massive frogs and a doll girl. The smaller frog loomed over her, hand on his blade as he eyed them. It was very threatening and all, and Dennis was sure he'd be appropriately cowed by it if he weren't distracted by the 15-foot tall armored toad that was ribbiting at her in a way that somehow sounded apologetic.

Frankly, with all that going on, Parian was barely a blip on the radar aside from a general happiness that she was uninjured.

While Dennis was wondering how it was possible to ribbit apologetically he noticed Vista walk up to stand by his side, staring curiously at the large amphibians.

"It's okay Gama, not many can hold back Hookwolf."

What? The frog had a name? And the frog was emotional?

The frog, Gama apparently, gave another mournful croak.

"It's okay really."

Her voice was comforting as she addressed what he was beginning to suspect wasn't just a projection. Really though, something that could arm wrestle fucking Hookwolf had no business being able to sound that dejected. It was almost cute.

…

Dennis turned his head, and yep. Vista was staring at the thing with wide eyes. It was only her years of experience and veteran Ward status that was keeping her from getting a closer look at the creature.

"Head back okay? And get those cuts looked at." The girl's voice was patient and understanding as she addressed the massive amphibian.

Cuts?

Sure enough, now that he wasn't distracted by the sheer size of the thing, the frog was littered with cuts where it wasn't protected by armor. None of them looked that bad though. Better off than what most people who faced Hookwolf tended to look like.

Dennis flinched when the massive frog suddenly disappeared in a massive puff of smoke, exactly the same as when it had first been called.

The other cape seemed to notice his reaction given the amused sound she made at him.

"He's a big softie," she explained, "even if he doesn't look like it. I sent him back to get his injuries taken care of."

Well, if she wasn't going to dance around it, he figured he wouldn't either.

"So, you're saying these frogs of yours aren't just projections?"

His suspicions were confirmed with a nod.

The sound of a blade escaping a sheath interrupted him before he could follow up on that rather alarming information.

"You know," the frog that loomed behind the cape spoke as he examined his rather large knife, "I have to say, I'm getting a little sick of being called a frog. I'm a toad kid. Remember that." It leaned forward staring at him, Dennis had to stop himself from reacting defensively. Or from backing down from the intimidating figure.

He was saved the trouble of trying to kick-start his brain and react to the vaguely threatening creature by the frog girl, toad girl he supposed, elbowing the toad behind her.

But really, it could talk?

"That's enough Kichi. They're heroes, they don't know better. But," she spoke, her tone, Dennis was sure, was meant for him, "I'm sure that they won't make that mistake again."

"Tch, I was just messing with him," the toad grumbled to itself as he put away his knife.

Dennis found himself struggling to find something to say, it was a pretty novel experience really. He almost wished he was in Vista's place talking to Parian.

"Right, toad. Sorry about that Kichi."

"That's Gamakichi to you kid, only sis gets to use that name."

He just could not win today could he? And did that toad just call her sis? He could only wonder what the heck was happening as he watched the girl berate the toad about being polite. She seemed embarrassed he noted, the thought seemed far away. This was surreal.

"Right," he interrupted the argument between the two, "I'm sorry if this seems intrusive. But, well, there isn't an easy way to say this so I'm just going to let it out. I'm pretty sure from our fun little conversation right now that your toads are sapient. I'm not accusing you of anything, but you should be aware of how wary people are towards master capes that can make intelligent creatures."

He winced preemptively, that was more than a bit blunt. He'd basically, however tangentially, associated her with the likes of Nilbog. So he was surprised when the girl snorted at him, seemingly unworried. Something of what he was thinking must have shown because she deigned to explain.

"The toads are only able to come here through me. They aren't able to come here on their own. Summoning them takes a toll on me, you don't have to worry about an army of toads taking over the world." Her voice was dry as she spoke.

Well, while he was relieved not to have Nilbog 2.0 in Brockton, he couldn't totally suppress his skepticism at her openness. People were rarely so straightforward when questioned about their powers.

Again the taller cape proved good at reading him, saying, "It's better to get this out in the open now, I don't need any problems from misinformation. Normally I wouldn't be so forthright about this, but it was something I planned for when I realized the particulars of my powers."

Dennis nodded in response for lack of anything better to say as he moved back toward Hookwolf in case he had to reapply his power. Stupid of him to get distracted from that.

"Don't worry," he reassured her, seeing her attention return to the frozen tornado of metal death, "I can reapply my power as soon as it wears off. He's not going anywhere."

Distantly he noticed that the toad's hand had never strayed from the hilt of his blade. Whether that was in reaction to the girl cape being near Hookwolf, or the talk about Master's that controlled sentient life he wasn't sure.

Time to steer onto safer waters.

"So," he asked, mostly jokingly, "gotta ask, you aren't ABB right?"

"What? She asked sounding completely thrown, "why would you even ask that? I'm a hero."

Dennis grinned at her response, she hadn't noticed it? "Your mask, its ABB colors."

He watched as she took in what he said. Even behind a full face mask, he could perfectly see the transition from shocked to mortified.

"I'll uhh, change that," she said weakly.

As openings went, it wasn't much. But he could practically feel the collective glares of Piggy and Armsmaster from here if they learned he didn't at least try to make an offer to a new and powerful cape.

Besides, it'd be nice to a girl in the Wards closer to his own age that wasn't a psychopath.

"You know," he said smoothly, "if you joined the Wards, we have people that make costumes."

He knew immediately it was the wrong thing to say from the way she tensed up. Dennis knew her answer even before she spoke.

"I'm sorry," and she really did sound sorry, "but I don't think the Wards are for me."

She seemed a mixture of defensive and worried, as if he'd take offense at her refusal. Dennis frowned a little confused but knew better than to push. Still, he wasn't completely out of tricks. Reaching into one of the compartments in his suit, he pulled out a card with the number for his official PRT phone.

"Tell you what," he said as he made to hand her the card, "take this. I'm sure you have your reasons for not wanting to be in the Wards. But that doesn't mean we can't patrol together sometime. Heroes have to stick together after all," he finished genially.

Hesitantly, she took the card, looking at it carefully as though she thought it would bite her. The toad behind her placed an arm on her shoulder, jolting her out of her reverie. He watched, interestedly as she nodded in thanks to the large animal.

"Thank you," her voice was soft, unsure. Her previous confidence had faded into something more awkward and stilted. She seemed almost cautious as she spoke. "I'd like that."

Dennis wasn't sure if he believed her or not. It was hardly an enthusiastic response. But it wasn't a no, and he could work with that.

"I should go," she spoke abruptly, "I promised Parian that I'd escort her back to make sure she didn't run into any more trouble."

Somehow, Dennis thought dryly seeing the shocked turn of the rogue cape's head from where she was talking with Vista at being addressed, he doubted that. He decided to not call her out on it as Parian gave her hesitant agreement. Something was obviously bothering the toad girl and he didn't want to scare her away. Independent or not, a new hero was always a good thing. Especially in Brockton Bay.

He nodded to her as she made to leave, climbing onto the large toad behind her. He fought off a snicker as he watched her offer a hand up to Parian. That strangled snicker struggled to turn into outright laughter as he watched the doll girl hesitantly and clumsily make her way onto the toad. The toad was hunching its body, preparing to jump away when he remembered something important.

"Wait! What's your cape name? I can't keep calling you Toad Girl in my head."

The other cape pulled up short in surprise looking embarrassed.

"Sorry, it's Jiraiya, my name that is."

For some reason, the massive toad seemed to find her cape name absolutely hilarious. The strange girl studiously ignored the red toad's laughter, settling comfortably on its back.

Jiraiya huh? He'd have to look that up later, it probably meant something. Dennis gave her a wave as she made to leave.

Wow, he thought, as he saw the toad leap. That thing could really jump. The snicker finally escaped him as he heard a startled, undignified shriek emit from Parian at the sudden motion.

Dennis ducked suddenly, feeling a whoosh of air where his head had been.

"Ha!" he spoke turning to Vista, "not this time." He grinned as he saw an irritated expression make its way onto her face. He wondered what she would do if he informed her that her look did nothing to make her more threatening, the opposite really.

"You shouldn't laugh at her," Vista scolded.

"Looks like you guys have been busy," a highly amused voice interrupted them.

Dennis felt dread settle around him like a cloud as he turned to face the familiar voice. His fears were realized as he took in the sight of Assault accompanied by Battery and Dauntless. In contrast to Assault, Battery didn't look the least bit entertained.

"We thought we'd let you handle the spiel to the newbie. Didn't want to crowd the new cape." Assault informed them as Dauntless walked over and zip tied Rune.

Dennis winced, that was a beginner's mistake, judging by the self-conscious shifting of Vista, she realized it as well.

"Now," Battery interjected folding her arms across her chest, voice laden with disapproval, "what were you thinking?"

He exchanged a look with Vista as he floundered for an explanation.

"It was Clockblocker's idea," Vista said hurriedly.

Dennis glared at his partner in shocked outrage as she took a power-assisted step away from him. A betrayal most black. He'd get her back for this.

The weighty stare of Battery distracted him from further thoughts of revenge.

Slowly he took in the expectant gaze of Battery as she waited for an answer. Assault looked extremely amused, no help there, and Dauntless was taking way too long to secure Rune.

He sighed to himself.

It really wasn't easy being a hero.

* * *

AN - Here we have your Lord and Savior, Clockblocker!


	10. Impressions 2-4

Impressions 2.4

Taylor sighed in relief as they hopped away from the downed Nazis and the wards. How was it that talking with Clockblocker felt more difficult than the fight with Alabaster? A muffled yelp from behind her at Kichi's leaping reminded her of their passenger. Immediately she felt bad. Sending a message through their link, telling her partner to land at the next roof, she turned her thoughts to the rogue behind her.

Again the guilt filled her. The doll girl had been through a lot today. Not only had Parian been attacked by some of the most dangerous capes in the city, she'd also saved her own life when Alabaster almost stabbed her, then agreed with her spur of the moment excuse to escape the awkward Wards recruitment speech from Clockblocker. She grimaced, suddenly feeling incredibly selfish.

Sliding off the toad and onto the roof she reached up to help Parian down off of Gamakichi. It gave Taylor a chance to realize how short the rogue parahuman actually was. Taylor knew she was pretty tall for a girl, but she'd be surprised if Parian was an inch or so taller than 5-feet.

Belatedly, she noticed that the rogue was shifting awkwardly. She probably didn't know what to say. Taylor didn't really consider socialization her thing, but she figured she could bite the bullet after the day the other girl had.

"Thank you."

At the startled look from the other girl, Taylor elaborated.

"For going with it when I told Clockblocker that I was taking you home. I don't want to go into the details, but the Wards," here she hesitated, trying to figure out what to say, "It's not something I can consider at the moment."

Something in the way she spoke must have convinced the other girl because Parianjust nodded at her.

"It's no problem."

Taylor found herself surprised at the sound of the smaller girl's voice. It was a little low, and husky. Not something she would have expected to come from someone so small. It was nice.

"And thanks, for the thing with Alabaster. I would have been in a really bad place without your ribbon." She tried to convey the smile she was giving the other girl from behind her mask. The attempt faltered somewhat at the reminder of what Clockblocker had said about her mask. How had she not even thought of the ABB connection? She had practically lived on the edge of their territory her entire life.

"No," the other girl said, shaking her head, "I should be thanking you. You took on three Empire capes for me, I don't know what I would have done without you. I'm not much of a fighter," she admitted. "I'm okay with that. I don't really want to be one. It's why I chose to be a rogue." She continued after a moment, voice a little wry, "I admit, I was a bit worried when I saw the colors of your mask, but this would have ended badly without your help, so thank you Jiraiya."

Her cape name caused another round of snickering from Gamakichi causing Parian to jerk away, startled. Had she forgotten that he could talk? Taylor would have thought more of it if she wasn't busy internally bemoaning another reminder of her poor choice of colors. Granted, the mask had been a gift, but she should have realized the implications.

"Is something wrong?" Parian asked, sounding surprisingly genuine as she shot a few awkward looks towards the laughing toad.

"No," Taylor answered with a sigh, "I just can't believe I didn't realize that my mask featured prominent gang colors. I am going to have to make a whole new costume. Not," she continued, gesturing at herself self-deprecatingly, "that this is much of a costume. But the mask, at least, has to go."

She found herself becoming slightly uncomfortable at the penetrating stare she was receiving from the rogue cape. Her already awful costume looked even worse with the numerous cuts left behind by Alabaster. The sight of the ruined fabric of her clothes elicited a flare of pain, reminding her of the cut the albino cape had left her. Taylor grimaced as she examined the cut, it was still weeping blood, if more slowly than it had before.

"You okay sis?" Gamakichi asked, looming over her and looking at her arm worriedly. Had he not realized that she'd been hurt?

"I can help with that," Parian interjected.

Taylor looked at the girl in surprise before nodding in assent. It was better than nothing. In the back of her mind, she made a note to bring along first-aid stuff the next time she went out. Parian sent out a length of ribbon that quickly wrapped around her arm ending in a neat bandage. Taylor was a little shocked at the amount of fine control Parian had with her power.

"About your costume," Parian's voice interrupted the inspection of her new cloth bandage, "I can help with that if you wanted."

"Uhh what?" She blurted in reply to the unexpected offer. Parian looked just as surprised at her own offer.

"I can do it," Parian reassured her, "Probably anyway."

"The rumors that you make costumes for people are true?"

"Well, no," the shorter girl hedged, "not really. A few people have asked me here and there but I didn't really want that sort of attention. I made my own though," she went on in a bit of a rush, "and my power really does lend it to this sort of thing. I even have a guy I know in Milwaukee, a tinker who works with fabrics that was interested in my shows so I'm sure I can make you something good."

Taylor examined the other cape's costume, it was really well done. And if the other girl really knew that cape in Milwaukee... well stuff like that wasn't exactly easy to get a hold of. Plus, Taylor thought ruefully as she considered her current and rather ragged state, it would probably be much better than anything she could come up with on her own.

Still.

"I thought you didn't want that sort of attention?" Taylor asked cautiously.

"It's the least that I could do," Parian replied firmly, "after you saved me and the people that came to see my show. Besides," she continued sourly, "it looks like I have that sort of attention whether I want it or not. Helping you out isn't going to change anything after today."

"Thank you then," Taylor said. "That would be amazing. As you can see, costume making isn't really a strength of mine."

Taylor looked down at the other cape for a long moment thinking. What she was thinking of was reckless, but if this person was going to be trusted with her appearance as a hero, then she should know who she was working with. Plus, she really wanted out of this mask. Being even tangentially associated with scum like the ABB was sickening. They and the Merchants were the primary offenders when her dad came home shoulders slumped with tales of harassment at a job site after a shitty day at work.

And if she were absolutely honest with herself, she could use someone in the cape scene that she could trust. Someone human. Someone whose life she saved seemed like a relatively safe bet selfish as it was.

Reaching up to her face before she could change her mind, she lifted the porcelain mask off of her face and turned to face Parian.

"My name is Taylor," She told the stunned cape.

A long silence ensued as the doll girl struggled for a response.

Taylor felt her weak smile fade. She was really bad at this. Already she was wondering if this had been a mistake.

"I'm sorry," she said, struggling to find a way to explain why she'd done what she'd done. She wasn't sure she knew herself so explaining to other cape wasn't easy.

"I'm not good at this," she explained.

"No," the rogue interrupted, "it's fine. But, unmasking yourself, it's very serious. There are rules about these sort of things."

Ah, Taylor thought. The unwritten rules. Though calling it unwritten was a bit of a misnomer, it was one of the first things listed on the PHO forums dedicated to useful information for new capes.

"I understand," Taylor said. "Really, I don't expect you to unmask. I don't know why I did it," she said, only partially lying. "I guess I needed someone to know that I was doing something and not just my cape persona. I won't make a habit of this," she assured the more experienced cape weakly, "I just… I needed to prove that I could be a hero. That it was me who did it," the thoughts came unbidden, a torrent of abuse she'd suffered at school. Words she'd heard so often and in so many situations that she'd started to doubt when she'd told herself they weren't true. Weak, useless, ugly, crybaby, worthless. "I needed to know at least once, that I was able to act, and not just me wearing a mask. Taylor, not Jiraiya."

Her explanation was disjointed, and she wasn't sure that it made a whole lot of sense. In fact, she was almost sure that the other girl was as confused as she was.

"Sorry," she offered finally, with an uncomfortable shrug of her shoulders, "It's selfish of me to put all of my problems in your face like that. But I can't really explain better than that. If you don't want to help me with my costume I under-"

"No," the other girl spoke, warding off her words with a raised hand. "It's okay. I won't pretend to understand all that is happening with you, but you still saved me Jira-," she stopped midsentence, "Taylor. So thank you, and I would be happy to help. It will be a fun challenge," she finished nicely.

Taylor did her best not to think about the confusing mix of emotions she was experiencing at having non-hostile interactions with a person around her age. It had been a depressingly long time. The toads helped of course, but they were toads in the end. From another dimension no less, most were hardened warriors with experiences and wisdom that she could barely relate to, let alone comprehend. Some things just didn't translate well.

"So, what did the E88 want with you anyway?"

As far as conversational changes went, it wasn't very subtle. Still, Taylor was more than a little curious.

"Ah," Parian answered awkwardly, "They were trying to recruit me," she said, sounding disbelieving and disgusted.

"What? Why would they think you'd go for that?"

"I don't think they were going to give me the option to refuse," Parian answered dryly. "You don't send someone like Hookwolf if your goal is the diplomatic approach. As for why," the doll girl continued, "apparently the ABB has been making some moves lately. You might have heard that Lung grabbed up a couple of new capes a little while ago. What you might not have heard is that the ABB have been expanding their non-powered membership as well."

Taylor hummed in thought. It made a lot of sense, the E88 were currently the strongest and most entrenched organization in the city. They'd been prominent since before she was born when they'd been ruled by Allfather. Really, the only reason why the ABB could be considered a threat to them at all was because Lung was so powerful.

"How do you know all of this? I thought you stayed out of this sort of thing?"

"Well," Parian said in reply, "it's not exactly easy being a rogue in a city like Brockton Bay. Part of staying neutral is knowing the politics so that I don't accidentally offend someone, or move into the wrong area. Being a rogue is a protection, however, it also means that I'm alone if someone comes after me. As you saw today when you saved me. Ironically, I'm probably one of the more informed capes about the gangs in the city."

Taylor supposed that made sense though she would never have thought of that herself. She hadn't realized being a rogue could get so complicated.

"Are you going to be okay? Do you think the Empire will come after you again?

Parian snorted in response to that.

"Doubt it. At least not for a while." At Taylor's inquiring look she elaborated, "Going after a rogue is pretty sketchy as it is. Getting your ass kicked by a brand new cape while you try it? It's a pretty big embarrassment for them. I'll be okay for a little while. Besides, even if I wasn't a rogue, there is no way they'd ever have me with them."

"Why?" Taylor asked confused. "I mean, cloth constructs don't seem that intimidating at first I guess, but that gorilla of yours was pretty impressive. Not many things can tangle with Hookwolf, even for just a little bit."

The other cape seemed oddly serious as she considered the toad summoner's question. Taylor felt like she was under a microscope at the intense stare from the other cape. Finally coming to a decision, the rogue reached for her mask.

"Wait, Parian! I told you, you don't have to-"

"Hi, my name is Sabah."

Taylor found herself stalling midsentence at what porcelain doll mask was hiding. The girl before her was beautiful, with dark eyes and long lashes, her hair was a tumble of shiny dark curls. She was also, very obviously Middle-Eastern.

"I will trust you, as you trusted me. As the person who saved me from a horrible fate once the Empire learned of heritage." Parian's serious voice became a little amused as she continued, lips quirking in a sardonic little smile, "You can see how my membership with a Nazi group might raise some eyebrows."

Gamakichi laughed loudly as Taylor fumbled for a response."

* * *

Well, here we are."

Taylor nodded in response as she searched for something to say. What did you say to the person's life you saved, who in turn saved your own life during your very first cape fight? And then you unmasked in front of each other. Somehow, a simple 'Goodbye' didn't seem like enough.

Taylor blinked back into focus at finding her hand grabbed by the shorter parahuman. Taylor watched bemused as the older girl started scribbling on her hand.

Where did that pen even come from?

"My number," Parian spoke, amused. "We'll meet up and talk over ideas for your new costume."

Taylor stared at the numbers written on her hand. How long had it been since she had a reason to call someone?

"I'll have to get a phone," Taylor spoke in belated realization.

"You don't have a cell phone?" The other girl asked incredulously.

Taylor did her best not to think of the reasons she didn't have a cell phone like pretty much every other teenager in America. There was no way for Sabah to know that it was a sore subject in the Hebert family. Still, while it hadn't come up today, what was she going to do when she needed to call someone during her cape outings? She really needed a phone, not just because she now had someone to talk to with it, but also because it was going to be a necessity on future cape outings. She couldn't help the thought that mom wouldn't want other people to suffer in her memory.

"Well, when you get one, give me a call. We can schedule a meeting, and if you have any questions about being a cape I'll tell you what I can." Parian smiled ruefully, and continued, "Our experiences will obviously differ, but I can, at least, make sure you are reasonably informed."

"Thank you," Taylor said, "I guess I'll see you around?" Despite her best efforts, the words ended in a questioning lilt.

Sabah must have seen something in the other girl because she just nodded with a gentle smile before donning her mask once more, leaving with a wave goodbye. Taylor watched the other girl walk away for a long moment. Her gaze tracked downward finding the numbers written on her palm.

She wasn't sure how she should be feeling.

It was… nice.

Taylor felt hope for a friendship for the first time in a long time. Perhaps it was a bit presumptuous, they didn't really know each other. But it had been so long since she'd last experienced an amicable conversation with a girl her age, or, around her age anyways. Sabah was a bit older than her judging by the fact that she'd requested to be dropped off near the university. Under all the pleasantness of meeting someone who appeared to want her around, there was a thread of unease that she couldn't quite cut. She wouldn't call it fear, not even in her own mind, but she couldn't help the worry that this would inevitably end terribly. It was dumb of course. Not only did Sabah not have a reason to screw her over after she'd saved the girl, but, the darker girl also had no knowledge of Taylor's school experience. Logic, however, wasn't very helpful, unfortunately.

She shook her head. Taylor knew she was a bit of an introvert, that couldn't be laid entirely at the feet of her tormenters. She'd always preferred books and quiet. Still, she couldn't let this run through her head anymore. She knew herself well enough to know that she'd torment herself with what-ifs and hypotheticals.

No, scary or not. She would see where this went. Anything less meant that she let her bullies affect her life outside of school. She was already changing her schedule and randomizing where she ate lunch at school. Taylor wouldn't let them beat her in her life away from them as well. Not after what she had accomplished today. Taylor wouldn't allow Winslow or Emma taint her victory.

"Yo sis, we should get you home. It's pretty late."

Taylor jumped at the voice before rolling her eyes at herself. She'd gotten so lost in her head that she forgot about Kichi who had been waiting patiently as the two girls hashed everything out. Taylor checked her watch and nearly swore. It really had gotten late. She'd left around sunset, and it was already past midnight. She hadn't realized so much time had passed.

Granted, she thought as she made a running leap, jumping off a dumpster in the alleyway and onto the ladder leading up to the roof, most of the time had been spent patrolling and later, taking Sabah home. The fight with the Nazis hadn't lasted very long at all really.

Taylor flashed a reassuring smile at Gamakichi's careful look. Getting on his back with practiced ease, she patted his back.

"Let's go home."

"Sure thing sis."

The time traveling from the edge of the university campus to her house passed in a blur. She let Gamakichi take charge as she let herself absorb all that had happened today. It had been a crazy night. She wondered how many other capes had to deal with such a large fight on their first night out. Somehow, she thought sardonically, she was in the minority for first cape experiences. Not that she wouldn't have done it again in a heartbeat. Three villain capes off the street. Taylor felt a smile curve her lips, three highly dangerous capes that were no longer haunting the people of Brockton Bay. It had been a while since she had felt pride in something that she'd accomplished.

She liked how it felt.

Taylor felt her partner slow down, coming to a stop about a block from her place. Sliding off the toad she stretched out the kinks, reaching up and lifting off her mask with a sigh. Turning to the toad at her side she gave a smile.

"Thanks, for the help today. And make sure you tell Gama I said thanks as well okay?"

The toad smiled in response. It was a soft smile, uncharacteristic of the normally boisterous and rough toad.

"You did good today kid." He cracked a mischievous grin, "better than big bro did in his first fight even from what I heard."

Taylor felt a blush creep up her neck and dust her cheeks at the praise. It had been a while since she'd heard that as well.

Gamakichi snickered at the awkwardness of his summoner.

"Get some sleep sis. You deserve it after today." He reached over and patted her shoulder with a large amphibious hand, "Really though, you did good… Jiraiya."

Spluttering in laughter at her cape name, he waved once more in goodbye and left for his home, disappearing in a blast of smoke.

Taylor groaned loudly, slapping her hand against her face at his parting shot as she made her way to her home. She thought she had been so clever. Didn't he realize how hard it was to come up with a good hero name relating to toads? Try nearly impossible.

As amazing as her toads were, they weren't exactly heroic symbols. When she had stumbled upon the mythological character of Jiraiya it had seemed like serendipity. A mythological hero, who was a ninja that transformed into a toad? It was a perfect expression of her power, a great cape name. So, she had been understandably confused when upon hearing the name, Gamakichi had roared with laughter.

It had taken her nearly 10 minutes to get him to calm down enough to explain. That was the first time Taylor heard anything of the previous toad summoners aside from their existence. Jiraiya had apparently been the first in Gamakichi's lifetime. He was, going by the stories from the toads, an extremely powerful and wise man. Known for his kindness and gallantry, an accomplished novelist as well as one of the strongest ninja of his time. He was also, apparently a self-proclaimed super-pervert. Taylor did her best not to think too hard about that last part.

The others were no less impressive. Each of them was some of the strongest ninja in their world. Minato and his son, Naruto, had apparently become Hokage as well. Same for Naruto's surrogate little brother figure Konohamaru. Gamakichi had explained it to her as the leader of their home. The pinnacle to which all other ninja aspired and modeled themselves towards. After hearing about how amazing they all were, Taylor had wondered why she of all people inherited such a legacy.

In the darker corners of her mind, she sometimes feared she got her powers by mistake, that the power of the Toads was meant for someone much more worthy than her. Privately, she doubted she would ever be as worthy of them as the previous wielders.

Even after hearing the truth of Jiraiya the toad summoner, she'd stubbornly insisted on the name. Part of that was stubbornness. Another part of it was the vague fear that she'd get stuck with someone else naming her. She didn't want to go through her hero career known as Toad Girl, Frogger, Toadstool, or some other awful thing that Gamakichi had teased her with.

Kichi had later told her that his father had given her blessings to use the name. Something that she'd been grateful for. She didn't want to impose on them by using the name of a deceased comrade of theirs. Gamabunta had explained to her through Kichi that the 'Old Pervert' would be positively smug that his legacy had spread to a whole new world. Carried by a woman no less. Taylor did her best not to think too hard about that last part either.

Exhaling wearily as she walked to the tree in her backyard she stretched her sore body. Taylor grimaced at the knowledge that the soreness would be worse in the morning, no doubt accompanied by some bruises as well. As though bidden by her thoughts, her bandaged arm twinged in pain. She was going to be stuck wearing long sleeves for a while.

It was really late and she would have to sneak in. Alerting her father that she'd been out was not an option. And if that wasn't an option, then letting him know that she had been out patrolling the city and fighting the Empire was definitely out of the question.

Nimbly she climbed the old tree in her backyard and carefully inched her way along a thick overhanging branch. Giving herself three even breaths to gather her focus, she leaped. Landing nimbly on the roof of her home she winced at the sound of her feet scraping against the roof tile. Holding her breath and straining her ears for any movement, she let out a sigh of relief at the continued silence. Carefully easing open the window to her bedroom, she slipped in.

Taylor felt the tension of the day flow from her body, finally able to relax at being in a familiar and safe place. Quickly shedding and hiding her torn clothing and mask and mesh armor she slipped into her pajamas. Glancing at the clock at her nightstand as she made her way to bed, she winced at the sight. 1:45 am. Tomorrow was going to be rough. She got into her bed went under the covers of her bed.

The newest hero of Brockton Bay allowed herself to smile. Being in her bed, it felt like she was finally able to say that the day was over. Her smile turned into a wide grin. She still didn't think she was worthy of the Toad legacy yet. Especially not compared to the previous summoners Gamakichi had told her about. And she knew she wasn't much of a hero yet.

No, she had a long ways to go.

But, it was a good start.


	11. Growth 3-1

Growth 3.1

"Looking good sis. Told you talking to that Parian girl was a good idea."

Taylor broke from examining the warehouse across the street to glare at her battle partner. She didn't really appreciate the oblique reminder of how long she had agonized over sending a text message with her newly acquired phone to her newest… friend, acquaintance? Whatever Sabah was to her right now.

Okay, so she had stared at the message for a while, trying to send it. Taylor felt she could be forgiven a little nervousness given past experiences. Apparently, it had gotten to the point where Kichi, fed up, had stolen her phone and sent it himself.

She would have been impressed at how quick he'd figured out how to send a text if she hadn't been too busy being angry at the smug toad. Still, she couldn't exactly deny the truth. Parian had been nothing but nice, and almost a week later, Taylor had a costume that was leagues ahead of the make-shift one she'd worn during her debut patrol.

There was an undeniable sense of pride in being able to actually look like a hero as she continued on her journey of becoming one. The only thing remaining from her previous costume was the wire mesh armor, longer in the sleeves now, reaching to her elbows. Replacing the sweats she'd worn on her first night out was a pair of black pants that were slightly loose and flowing, giving freedom of motion. Covering her chest was a tight, short-sleeved shirt, colored in a dark burgundy. It was similar to the under armor she saw runners wear, though the material it was made of wasn't quite so mundane. The red was deep enough to appear almost black at night.

She had been assured by Parian that the fabric was incredibly tough and tear resistant. The tinker contact she'd mentioned from Milwaukee was apparently named Clothier and had given her the material as a favor. He was a tinker that specialized in creating fabrics. His creations were apparently much tougher than what was commercially available and resistant to many different things. The tinker apparently kept a low profile. But he was known to sell his wares to the PRT and the Guild, who used his tinker fabrics to outfit many of their officers and heroes. According to his PHO thread anyway. All it had taken for Parian to get her hands on some of his more exotic material was promising him that she'd give him some input on his costume too.

Taylor had replaced her full-faced mask with a rigid half-mask that covered her lower face from her nose down. It offered less protection than her previous one, but she couldn't bring herself to continue using something that was even peripherally tied to one of the gangs that were poisoning her city. It had made her feel a bit guilty though. The mask had been a gift after all. So, despite her misgivings for actually wearing the thing she'd hung on to it.

Taylor pulled up the hood of her favorite part of her new costume in lieu of answering the toad beside her. Right or not, she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. The hooded coat was the best part of her new costume in her opinion. Short-sleeved, and a nice maroon in color, the open coat ended at her shins.

Taylor had wanted to acknowledge the previous summoners in some way. She was honoring Jiraiya by using his name, even if it had been unintentional at first. When she'd learned from the toads that the father and son who were the previous summoners were both known to wear battle coats, she took it upon herself to ensure its addition to her new costume. It was really the only input she'd given Parian when asked about design. Though, she'd abstained from the flames the two summoners before her had favored. It was a bit tacky in her own, private opinion. Maybe it was a boy thing? And she couldn't quite imagine the overly long scarf Konohamaru was said to wear. No need to give something for someone to grab onto. Instead, she'd added the kanji for oil that had been on her old mask onto one of the short coat sleeves.

The various elements combined to look very impressive in her opinion. Like a real hero. The fact that the coat hid her blade and had strategically placed armored paneling sewed into it was just icing on the cake.

Parian did good work. It was almost surprising that her new costume had been the doll girl's first foray into cape costumes aside from her own.

As though bidden by the thought, she felt a buzz in one of her coat's many pockets. She reached, grabbing her new phone to see a new message from the girl in question.

good luck :)

Taylor quickly typed a reply, ignoring the knowing snickers of her partner.

Back on topic.

"How about we focus on the ABB warehouse right in front of us, and less on gloating? Maybe they will actually be able to keep ahold of who we capture tonight," Taylor finished sourly.

She had been extremely disheartened that the Empire had managed to break Rune and Hookwolf out of containment. The only consolation was that the PRT had managed to keep ahold of Alabaster. Better than nothing she supposed, but it burned that her first successful act as a hero had been tarnished.

Kichi grumbled in agreement. He hadn't been too impressed with what had happened either, though, he had expressed it in a much more colorful manner than his summoner.

"Right," he spoke, getting back on track, "so this is the place the Messenger Corps scouted out?"

Nodding absently in reply, Taylor's hands flew through the now recognizable hand signs as she slapped the ground, beginning a new summoning. A rush of energy flowed out as she felt over a dozen new beacons of warmth entered her conscious.

She held back a smile at the mound of toads she'd summoned. The tallest was no higher than her shin and the smallest of a comparable size to a normal toad. Taylor watched in amusement as the scrambled out from the tangle of bodies and lined up in front of her, croaking in greeting. Unlike a lot of the larger toads she summoned, the smaller ones before her were muted colors. Browns mostly, with some dark greens and a mottled mixture of the two. One of the slightly larger ones, a toad with a dark green streak on its back elbowed aside its fellows and hopped before her, giving a sharp salute.

She smiled at the group of rambunctious toads that she'd taken to summoning whenever she needed a bit of scouting.

"See that building across the street?"

Upon hearing the croaks of agreement, Taylor continued.

"I want you to go in there and check it out. Make sure you aren't seen okay?"

The jumble of toads croaked in a mixture of excitement and agreement at having a task to do. The larger toad with the stripe bullied his fellows into giving her a synchronized salute and hopped off toward the seemingly abandoned warehouse, seamlessly melting into the night.

"What's the plan?" Gamakichi asked, interrupting her fruitless attempt to try to spot out the little scouts.

"According to what one of Kosuke's messenger's reported, this is a stash house. Likely for money, maybe some drugs and guns as well. It should only be moderately guarded, they don't have the numbers for more than that. Probably no capes, though that's no guarantee, which is why I'm sending in the scouts."

Gamakichi hummed thoughtfully as he took in what she was saying.

"All right, assuming it's just some grunts, what are you thinking?

"Shock and awe," Taylor answered readily enough.

"Seems a little aggressive," was the reply from the toad. Not disagreeing, more like asking for an explanation.

He had a habit of doing that, the summoner thought with a roll of her eyes. Yes, it was probably helpful for her when it came to planning and tactics. Good practice even, she acknowledged privately, which is why she answered the non-question. It was still annoying though.

"I want most of them out of the fight right away. Whoever is left standing will be too confused and stunned to react. It shouldn't be an issue if it's just a group of thugs not expecting any trouble. I'd rather attack than react, especially when we hold all the cards here. And if by chance there is some cape here, this will either take them out of the fight right away or force them out into the open."

Taylor wasn't quite able to stop from rolling her eyes again when Kichi just nodded in agreement, looking insufferably smug. No doubt in his mind her ideas were all due to his training. She'd let him have it this time she supposed. Taylor owed him a lot. More than she could ever repay really.

Dismissing the heavy thoughts for a more appropriate time, she glanced back at the warehouse.

"Think that's enough time for them to set up?"

"Yeah, do your thing sis. I'm getting impatient."

Taylor ignored that last part, deciding he didn't deserve the effort of a third eye roll and began a new chain of hand symbols. Slightly altered from her usual set. Taylor finished the set, preparing herself for what she was about to do. Instead of the usual summoning, something else occurred.

The warm spots in her mind that Taylor associated with her toads altered. The awareness bloomed and expanded. Maybe evolved would be a better word. What before was merely a general consciousness of her toad's position and feelings, expanded into sight. She could see what they saw. Appearing in her mind like screens from multiple points of view, she could suddenly see every single thing that her currently summoned toads were looking at.

From Kichi's point of view, she could see herself in her new costume, face concealed behind her mask and hood. Her eyes had changed. Gone were her natural brown orbs. They had changed, mutated into a startling yellow color with a black horizontal iris reminiscent of her own toads.

A changer effect to help her process the sensory information? She wasn't sure, but it occurred whenever she used this technique. Gamakichi hadn't been particularly interested in explaining the technical details of the ability so much as making sure that she could execute it flawlessly.

It was impossible to describe accurately what it was really like. Taylor could explain it with words. She could see herself from Kichi's point of view, the various angles and sight from within the warehouse from the scouts within, as well as her own point of view. She was receiving all of this information simultaneously, yet somehow she wasn't overwhelmed. She could process it all with no loss in ability to interact with the world around her. Yet explaining it wasn't the same as experiencing it first-hand.

"What do we got?"

Taylor concentrated on what she was getting from her toads as she answered.

"It looks like about what we expected. Seems to be about a dozen ABB members. Got a guy in a back room they converted to an office that looks to be the boss. Probably where they're keeping their stash. A few have handguns from what I can see," Taylor looked closely again before confirming, "But nothing larger that the scouts can see. Most have random makeshift weapons laying around. Baseball bats and things like that. They're relaxed though, not expecting trouble."

From the corner of Taylor's own perception, she could see Gamakichigrin at the news. Distantly, still paying attention to what she was seeing inside the warehouse, she felt a pang of sympathy for the gangsters whose day they were about to utterly ruin.

"Bring out my little bro, and I'll give you some proper shock and awe."

Yeah, she was definitely starting to worry about those gangsters. Still, it'd be nice to see the cheerful toad again. She didn't summon him much. Because, well, as nice as he was, Gamatatsu wasn't really the brightest crayon in the box.

She'd feel awful if something happened to him due to him not understanding the danger he could face from a villain. But, if Kichi wanted him here then he had a plan. Kichi would hardly put his little brother in danger.

Reassured, she nodded to her battle partner and prepared to summon. It was very off-putting seeing herself nod to Gamaikichi, while at the same time nodding at Gamakichi. Her ability to process the visual stimuli notwithstanding, it was still incredibly strange.

Flickering through the now familiar symbols, she summoned Kichi's little brother with the signature accompanying burst of smoke. As Taylor smiled at the yellow toad she noticed that she wasn't seeing from his point of view. They hadn't tested it, but it seemed that when she accessed this ability, it only applied to the toads that she'd already summoned. It was good to know, if not immediately pertinent.

Taylor looked on with a smirk as the yellow toad surprised Kichi with a hug. The orange toad squawked and grumbled, but she could tell that he wasn't trying too hard to get away. She'd have to remember to tease him about it later.

For all that they were of a similar size, the two toads were a study in contrast. Gamatatsu was a bright yellow, where Kichi was a rusty orange verging on red. Tatsu's face was round and cherubic. Kichi's more a mirror of their fathers. His voice high and cheerful whereas Kichi's was gruff. Gamatatsu was extremely happy and easygoing, a bit silly even. Kichi on the other hand, while generally nice enough, usually found entertainment from messing with others. He was a fair bit more serious than his younger brother as well.

Taylor grunted, breath whooshing out of her body at the sudden bear hug courtesy of Gamatatsu as he finished greeting his brother.

"Taylor! How's it going? Do you have any sna- ow!"

Rubbing the back of his head the yellow toad pouted to his older sibling.

"Why did you hit me big bro?"

Gamakichi for his part just rolled his eyes, sighing in exasperation.

"You can't use her name when she's in costume you moron. How many times have we gone over this?"

Gamatatsu just smiled apologetically in response.

Rolling his eyes again, the older of the two gestured toward the warehouse.

"See that building over there? It has a bunch of bad people in it. You and me are gonna do our collaboration attack on it. Shake 'em up and knock 'em out. Understand?"

Gamatatsu gave a long considering look at his brother and the warehouse as he considered the information. Giving the warehouse one more glance he seemingly came to a decision.

"Will I get snacks?"

Ignoring Gamakichi's outraged reaction, Taylor exhaled despondently.

The other reason why she didn't summon him all that much. Not for the first, and she was certain, not for the last time, she wondered at the strangeness of her power. Her life had become so odd since she started summoning toads. Well, if there was an upside to dealing with Gamatatu's gluttonous behavior, it was that he was consistent. Thus, she'd come prepared.

Drawing a large bag of Skittles out of one of her pockets she rattled them, interrupting the arguing siblings. Gamatatsu looked up from the noogie his older brother had been giving him, eyes lighting up at the sight of the candy.

"After," Taylor interrupted the yellow toad before he could speak. "You can have this, and another bag after we deal with the criminals in the warehouse."

Taylor stood bemused as the toad in front of her transformed. Bolstered by the promise of candy, the yellow toad straightened up and gave a crisp salute. Behind him, Gamakichi sent a beseeching look to the sky.

"Back to business guys. Remember, dangerous criminals and illegal goods?"

Plus, she could admit to being a little curious. She had seen what Gamakichi was capable on his own, and it was formidable. Whatever he wanted his brother here for was probably going to end up being impressive. Not that she was going to say that aloud of course. His ego was big enough as it was.

"Right, prepare to be impressed sis." Turning to face his brother, "you handle the water, and I'll take care of the wind okay?"

Taylor had no idea what that meant, but it seemed to make sense to Gamatatsu as he just nodded in response. The two toads positioned themselves to face the main entrance to the warehouse. Gamakichi stood behind the yellow toad. She watched curiously as he seemed to concentrate, a small gust of wind swirled, disturbing the otherwise still air as he placed his hands on Gamatatsu. Was he directing his energy into his brother? She wasn't sure, not familiar enough with their jutsu to really guess with any accuracy.

Gamatatu for his part took a deep breath, inhaling and holding his mouth closed, his cheeks puffed up to a comical size.

"Tell us when sis, but make it quick. It's not easy to hold this back."

Taylor took his words at face value and turned her attention back to the inside of the warehouse. It looked like most of the ABB members were congregated around a television. It was a little off to the side as opposed to directly in front of the entrance, but having all of them sitting in a convenient spot would have been too much to hope for. Besides, given the rather alarming look on Kichi's face when she had explained their plan as 'Shock and Awe', maybe it was better that the squishy humans weren't in the direct line of fire. Concentrating, she sent what they were about to do through her link to the toads inside the building so that they could find somewhere safe to hid. Nodding at the brothers when she was done, Taylor gave them the signal to strike.

They did so with enthusiasm.

"Wind Release: Toad Gun"

Water came gushing out of Gamatatu's mouth. Around it, propelling it forward like a drill, was a violent swirling shell of wind. It shot forward at incredible speeds. The already impressive attack raced towards the warehouse and seemed to expand as it reached its destination. The wind kept the water from losing any force as the area of the attack's effect expanded. The combination attack collided violently into the ABB safe house with a crashing roar.

The results were devastating. Taylor could hardly believe her eyes, it was as if Poseidon had come to life and struck out in fury. Half the wall of the derelict warehouse was simply gone. As the crashing of the toad's attack and the building lessened, she could hear the panicked and pained shouts of the gang members within.

That snapped Taylor out of her shock. Sparing an incredulous glance at the smug toads, she sprinted into the warehouse, coat fluttering behind her. She wasn't sure if she was going there to attack the stragglers, or to make sure that the building didn't collapse on them.

From her multiple perspectives of view, she saw as Kichi and Tatsu followed after her and the men inside struggling dazedly to their feet.

It seemed the criminals had been relatively lucky. Only four of them seemed to be knocked out from the Gama brother's combination attack. She bolted through the new gaping doorway her toads had made and was able to see them from her own perspective. They stared at her, uncomprehending, still shell-shocked from the devastation her toads had wreaked.

A tongue lashed out over her shoulder into one of the gangsters as she reached the nearest ABB member and maneuvering past his clumsy grab, harshly jabbed her new taser into his neck. Another recent acquisition of hers. She watched satisfied as the thug fell prone to the ground, out of the fight before he had truly realized that he was in one.

Her actions set the fight off in earnest. Kichi lunged forward, taking on two startled ABB members simultaneously. Tatsu blasted another one with a powerful blast of buffeting wind, sending the gangster crashing backward. Another thug, rightly seeing her as the easiest target ran for her only to stumble and fall, shouting incoherently as he was swarmed by the smaller scout toads who weren't content to merely watch.

Not to be left out, Taylor strode toward a younger gangster wielding a bat who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. While she didn't have any real physical powers of her own, she was still a cape. That carried with it an inherent wariness in any non-cape during a fight. Combined with the damage her toads were doing, her dark costume, and her startling eye color, Taylor made for an intimidating sight.

She watched as the ABB thug swung at her blindly, almost closing his eyes as he attacked. Smoothly sidestepping his clumsy blow, Taylor jabbed at his ribs with her stun gun, sending the Asian man collapsing in a fit.

Taylor saw a man approach her from behind thanks to her toad's sight at a run, fist raised. She spun away from the blow, the ABB member, not expecting her to dodge an attack from behind over-extended. She lashed out with a kick at his thigh, knocking him onto one knee, and following with a final jab of her stun gun into his neck.

Looking around, she saw Kichi finishing off the last member standing with a harsh shove that sent him flying through the air. Taylor winced as he crashed to the ground, rolling a few times before coming to a stop.

Breathing lightly, she looked at the destruction they had caused and the insensate gang members sprawled on the ground in various states of pain and unconsciousness.

Well, that went well.

"Can I have my candy now?"


	12. Growth 3-2

Growth 3.2

Taylor was extremely proud of herself for not outwardly reacting as she tossed the candy to the yellow toad. Gamatatsu really couldn't read a mood to save his life she thought as she watched the disturbing sight of the toad tearing into his prize. It was like a scene from the nature channel.

A pain filled groan from a downed man tore her gaze from the disturbing scene in front of her. Thankful for the distraction, she moved, checking over the downed thugs with Gamakichi to make sure that none of them were unduly harmed. Luckily, none of them seemed to badly off, though she didn't consider herself an expert on the subject.

Taylor took a deep breath, releasing the eye technique with her exhale. She found herself blinking rapidly at the sudden loss of multiple perspectives. The toad summoner rubbed her eyes irritably. The Toad Eye technique had an annoying habit of leaving her with a bit of dry eye.

"Alright Kichi, let's tie them up," she spoke doing her best to keep her voice calm and professional. The fight had been a total victory for them, but she wouldn't let down her guard until it was completely over with. Taylor had learned her lesson when she had almost been skewered by Hookwolf. As long as her costume was on, she'd keep her guard up.

As she and Kichi gathered the gangsters and began binding them with zip ties Taylor spoke to the group of smaller toads she had sent to scout the warehouse.

"Sweep the area, Kosuke's messengers reported this place was supposed to be a stash house. See if you can find where they kept their stuff."

Grinning at her and giving another salute, the little scout toads raced off further into the building, the toad with green stripe leading the way.

Taylor pointedly ignored the rather disturbing sounds from behind her as Gamatatsu dug into his snacks in earnest as she methodically bound the ankles and wrists of the ABB thugs. Did those sounds even exist in nature?

A chorus of excited croaks distracted her from contemplating Gamatatsu's horrific eating habits as the scout toads continued to make noise. Gesturing to Kichi to continue, she got up and made her way to the sounds her smaller allies were making. The sound of a muffled thumping from the room her toads were in turned her walk into a run.

She cursed her inattentiveness. How had she forgotten? There had been another guy in a back office. So much for not letting her guard down.

Withdrawing her stun gun on the run, she continued to mentally berate herself for such an amateur mistake. Taylor stopped in front of the door and held her breath, pressing her ear carefully to the door

Muffled cursing and thumps made its way through the door answered by defiant croaks from her little summons.

Taylor mentally added dropping the Toad Eye technique to her list of mistakes. There was no time to assess, her smaller toads were great scouts, but hardly combat capable.

"Kichi! Get over here!"

With that taken care of, she burst through the door. The brief moment of surprise let her take in the room. It was just as she'd seen from her toads before the attack. A moderately large room that had been converted into a makeshift office. A large, heavily built Asian man was fighting off a horde of her scout toads. Her summons were fighting bravely, using teamwork to make up for their lack of strength, but they weren't accomplishing much more than irritating the man. She sent a jolt along their bond for them to get to safety as she rushed the larger man.

He must have heard her come in because he met her charge with a blind backswing. Taylor was barely able to bring her arms up to intercept the blow. The muscular arm of the much larger man crashed into her, causing her to stumble. Momentum lost, she took a step back, eyes never leaving the thug.

The brief pause gave her time to appreciate how large he was. He was just over 6 feet tall, built with solid, ugly muscle. The knuckles of his fists were clenched and clearly showed a pattern of scars that told a history of violence. He looked like a man that was used to hurting others, and sometimes being hurt in turn. Nothing like the puffed up gangsters she'd gone through in the other room. And he was currently directing an ugly look her way.

Confirming her theory, the man wasted neither time nor breath on threats. Instead, he came charging at her with a wide haymaker.

Taylor just managed to step back to avoid the blow and found herself knocking into the wall of the office.

Taylor felt her face twist into a grimace.

On top of the obvious size advantage, she didn't have a lot of room to move around.

Her attention was forcibly dragged back to the matter at hand as the ABB member sent a vicious punch to her head.

Taylor dropped gracelessly, falling on her butt to avoid the blow. Taylor's eyes widened incredulously as the man's hand punched through the cheap drywall.

There was no way that she could take a hit from that.

She threw out a kick, landing a hit on his kneecap causing a grunt of pain to emit from the man. She made use of his distraction to scramble out from between him and the wall.

Focus!

She may not have her toads with her at the moment, but they'd prepared her to handle herself.

With a calming breath, she squared up against the Asian man holding her taser in front of her defensively.

Taylor had no more time for thought as the incensed man rushed at her again with a shout. She stepped into his wild swing and jabbed her taser at the man. The ABB enforcer flinched as it hit his ribs in a glancing blow but recovered with surprising swiftness and wrapped his other hand around her wrist.

Taylor's surprise turned to pain as he squeezed.

"Who the fuck are you? Do you know who you're messing with?"

She was unable to stop herself from the dropping the stun gun as she did her best not to scream from pain. She could feel the bones in her wrist grinding together. Fueled by desperation, she lashed out blindly with a kick.

She landed squarely between his legs causing the man to let out a gasping curse loudly in some Asian language and stumble backward, hunched over in agony.

It took a supreme effort of will not to huddle over her abused limb and press her advantage. She ran towards the man and with a leaping knee crashed into the taller man's temple. He reacted blindly with a punch that plowed into her ribs and sent her staggering.

Armored coat or no, pain radiated from her side. Gasping desperately for breath, she struggled to stand tall and not hunch over in pain. The man reacted quicker than anyone hit in that spot had any right too and hurled the lone chair in her direction.

Taylor grunted as the cheap office chair knocked her back and forced her to abandon drawing her blade.

Seeing his chance, the gangster lunged across the room, making use of his size advantage to make a grab for her.

Taylor dove desperately to dodge his seeking hands only to be caught by the ankle, sending her collapsing, her chin meeting the ground painfully. She kicked out blindly with her other foot and heard a crack as she broke his nose. It didn't, however, let her escape from his grasp.

The man's face was an ugly mask of rage and blood as he pulled her towards him. Maddened by pain, he punched her in the stomach causing Taylor to gasp, winded. Taking advantage of her momentarily defenseless state, he wrapped his large hands around her throat and squeezed.

Taylor scrabbled desperately at the man's wrists, trying to free herself. Panic edged toward hysteria as her vision dimmed at the edges. In one last gambit, she thumbed the larger man's eye.

The disgusting squelch as she used too much force, her control nonexistent in her desperate and manic state, would stay with her forever.

With a howl of pain, the man fell back cupping a profusely bleeding face. Before he could figure out how much damage had been done a great crashing noise signified the arrival of Kichi as he rocketed into the room, followed by her scouting toads.

Assessing the situation instantly, he lashed out with his tongue, hitting the thug in the chest with crushing force. The large man was lifted bodily into the air as he flew back into and through the cheap drywall with a devastating crash.

The veteran toad didn't spare the downed human a glance, leaping across the room to settle by his summoner's side.

She heard his voice but was unable to comprehend what was being said. Distantly she thought it sounded like she was under water. Her whole being was absorbed in forcing her abused throat to fight for breath.

Taylor wasn't sure how long she laid there, staring unseeing at the ceiling. Pain radiated through her entire body. She came back to the present as Kichi, worried at her unresponsiveness, used his considerable strength to help her stand.

Stumbling as she found her feet she smiled gratefully at her reliable summon. Remembering her mask, she nodded instead reassuringly instead.

"I'll be okay." She reassured, voice raw and scratchy. "It was my fault, I forgot about the man in the room. It was a stupid mistake."

"Are you sure?" Something funny in the toad's voice caught Taylor's attention. "I can finish him if you want."

There was something dangerous in the restrained, even tone of voice used by her most trusted summon. Goosebumps rippled across her skin at the dangerously casual way he made the offer. It reminded Taylor of where he was from. That he wasn't a hero, not really. He was a warrior. And his world didn't have the same rules that hers did. It shocked her a little, but maybe not as much as it should have. Maybe she was out of it still from the fight, or maybe she couldn't bring herself to think too badly of perhaps the most important being in her life.

Either way, Taylor simply answered with a shake of her head.

"Take him and tie him up with the others. I'll look around here and see what I can find."

Gamakichi gave her a long, level look and Taylor struggled not to react. After a long pause, the toad nodded at her and moved over to the downed gangster, effortlessly picking up the hulking form. If the man's head hit the door on the way out harder than simple inattention should have allowed, well, Taylor wasn't going to be the one to bring it up.

Once she was sure the toad was out of earshot she collapsed back on to the ground hyperventilating. Shrugging her hood off, she threaded her fingers through her hair and clenched her fists as she fought for calm.

Taylor hadn't been beaten yet. Until now. And no matter that the man had ended up unconscious and she was still alive, she did not think of that fight as anything but an utter defeat. She had been riding high after such a successful first outing. Going out tonight, she'd been feeling confident. She was not only a hero but finally, she looked the part as well. Like every single fantasy that she'd had as a child running around with a cape around her neck pretending to be Alexandria made manifest.

It had made her careless.

Inquiring croaks interrupted her brooding. Taylor looked up, startled, at the blurry figures in front of her, blinking away tears that she hadn't realized had formed. Taylor felt herself form a half-hearted smile at the host of worried expressions from the small group of toads in front of her.

The smile became a little more genuine when the one with the green stripe proffered her dropped taser to her hopefully.

"Thank you," she said, taking the weapon and giving him a few gentle pats.

A light laugh was coerced from her as the smug look he shot to his fellows. She shook her head at the little toad as she rubbed her sore throat, making a mental note to hold off on the laughter for a while.

"And thank you guys for getting Kichi for me. I don't think I could have won without him. You guys saved me."

The proud looks spread to all of the toads present now. Taylor shook her head at them as she made to stand up. It was a painful process, but she managed it easier this time. Thankfully, she didn't think anything was broken. The coat had done its job well.

"Don't tell him about my little freakout, okay guys? He'll only worry. I'll be fine, I just needed to vent a little."

That was only partially the truth. She was still freaking out and berating herself mentally. But she couldn't focus on that until this was over with. Taylor didn't want to be distracted and make yet more mistakes.

After though…

After, she would think long and hard about the many mistakes she'd made, and how she could make sure to never repeat them. Her inexperience wasn't an excuse for her mistakes. Not when she could die before she could learn from them.

The proud looks her scouting toads wore faded as the turned to each other questioningly. They croaked at one another as they discussed. Not for the first time, Taylor lamented at the peculiarities of her powers.

How many capes had to bargain with their power for it to do what they wanted? It was the price she paid for summoning intelligent creatures she supposed. Taylor felt revulsion rise at the thought of her toads as nothing more than mindless automatons carrying out her will. It might have been appealing before she got her powers. But, now that she'd known them, learned from them, and formed relationships with them? The thought of Kichi as nothing more than an empty construct, a pale facsimile of the real and amazing thing that he was in reality, was awful.

If the occasional back talk was the price she had to pay for her companions, well, it wasn't even a question in her mind.

Finally coming to a decision, the group of small toads turned to her and gave a unified salute, agreeing to keep their silence.

A smile curled her lips behind her mask, as useful as they were, they were just too cute.

"Thank you," she told them genuinely. "Now, you guys think you found the ABB stash in this room right? Can you show me?"

The toads reacted enthusiastically, happy to have something to do. The hoped in a group across the destroyed office room. Taylor found herself surprised at the destruction she had caused in her fight. She hadn't had time to take stock of the room earlier.

It was fairly utilitarian. There was no effort to hide what it was, a room in a gang-affiliated stash house. There were no plants or nice furnishings that one might see in a more normal office room to promote a sense of comfort and liveliness. It was bare aside from a few cheap chairs, some filing cabinets, a computer and a desk. All of which was overturned or destroyed in some manner. Whether that was all from her fight or part of it was from the initial attack the toad brothers launched at the building she wasn't sure. In the end, Taylor supposed it didn't really matter. She hardly felt guilty about breaking a gang member's things.

She followed the group of toads past the overturned desk, carefully picking her way through the destruction as the made their way to the wall behind it.

What did you call a group of toads anyway? A pod, a horde? Shaking off the useless thought she saw her summons perched victoriously atop two dark canvas duffle bags, pointing at an opened wall safe that had been hidden behind the desk.

The man must have heard the trouble outside and was trying to escape with what he could.

Taylor's eyes widened at the contents of the bags and the safe.

She'd never seen so much money in her life. Stacks of bills were stuffed haphazardly into the bags, filling them completely.

In the safe was a few more stacks of cash as well as some jewels, though she didn't know what kind. Probably expensive if they were in there, though. Her state of disbelief at the amount of wealth in this one stash house was broken at the sight of what else was in the safe.

Unassuming bricks of substance in a light brown filled the remainder of the safe. She was able to identify it immediately. You don't live in the area she did without knowing what heroin looked like, no matter that she didn't use it.

It was an ugly reminder of the kinds of things that the gangs brought to her city. The ABB weren't quite as prolific with drugs as the Merchants, but all the gangs did their fair share of it. Not to mention the involvement the ABB had with the sex trade.

She dismissed the thoughts as both useless and depressing. Taylor couldn't do anything about that for now. She just hoped that this loss would hurt them. Turning her gaze back to the contents of the ABB stash house, Taylor let out a thoughtful humming sound.

"Now, what do I do with you?"


	13. Growth 3-3

Growth 3.3

An impressed whistle interrupted her musings on what to do with the ABB's illegal goods. Turning, she smiled in a hopefully reassuring manner to Gamakichi.

"That's a lot of money sis. What do we do with it?" He asked in lieu of a proper greeting.

"Give it to the police?" she half asked, looking for his opinion on the matter.

The toad made his opinion clear with a dismissive snort.

"Why? They didn't take out the stash house. And you could use that money yourself. I know you've been feeling bad about not being able to pay Parian. Which," he continued exasperatedly, "you shouldn't. She offered to make it for you."

While Taylor struggled to find an answer to that, Gamakichi continued.

"Not to mention, you could use that money for better equipment. And to get some proper medical supplies," he finished, eyeing the stiff, careful way in which she walked darkly.

Taylor frowned as she thought about how to reply.

Sensing her intent, the toad interrupted her before she could veto the idea outright.

"Is it illegal?"

Taylor hummed thoughtfully as she tried to decide on how to answer.

"It's a bit of a gray area," she informed him. "When capes first arrived on the scene, it was illegal. They treated it the same as if someone stole something from a crime scene."

Gamakichi made sounds of acknowledgment, nodding in understanding and gesturing for her to continue.

"Well," she continued, trying to remember the details of what she'd found in her research, "they sort of found that those rules didn't quite work with capes. Then, once it became clear that there are way more villains than heroes, well, they made some changes. I forget what the actual laws name is, but people usually just call it the Vigilante Law. Basically, any cape acting in a heroic capacity can take what they find when they attack a criminal. It mostly covers cash, it's still illegal to take weapons or drugs. They don't like to advertise it, but it's basically just trying to incentivize capes not to be villains."

"So, what's the problem then?" prompted the toad.

Taylor felt a flush creeping up, thankfully hidden by her mask. It sounded pretty dumb when she just gave a long explanation as to why it was legal.

"It just feels wrong," she said lamely with a shrug, her eyes darting to the floor self-consciously.

"Look sis," Gamakichi sighed, "you're a good kid. Maybe a little too good sometimes for the kind of life you want to live. You have to realize that sometimes, the ends do justify the means." He gestured broadly to the gangsters around them, "These were bad men who got that money doing bad things. So, take that money, and use it to do something good. Give some to Parian if you're still feeling guilty about the free costume, buy a better nonlethal melee option, better armor inserts for your coat, a better medical kit. Take that bad, and use the money to do some good."

Taylor stared at the toad opposite her. She knew that she shouldn't be surprised even though she was. It wasn't often that Gamakichi sounded like the adult, battle-hardened veteran that he was.

"Half," she offered finally.

Gamakichi gave a smile of satisfaction and nodded at his partner.

"Half," he agreed, reaching down and grabbing one of the duffel bags before hopping back to the main area of the warehouse.

Taylor eyed the remaining illicit stash of drugs and money and gave a sigh. She knew that her partner raised a very valid point. Several of them really. That didn't change that it still felt a little wrong. Maybe if she looked at it as a poetic irony? Using the money of the cities cancer in her efforts to heal it. Taylor grimaced. Well, it sounded pretty enough. Maybe it'd feel more okay with practice.

She slipped her phone out of her pocket and gave one last look at the destroyed office room. Taylor ignored the whispering reminders at how close her fight had been niggling at the edge of her mind and dialed the only other number aside from Sabah's that she had saved to it.

A professional sounding female answered her promptly.

"PRT emergency services, how may I help you?"

"Hello, I have about twelve ABB thugs in captivity as well as the contents of one of their stash houses."

There was a brief pause on the other line as the women digested that information.

"May I ask who this is?"

Taylor blinked in surprise before rolling her eyes. Right, that was dumb of her. They had no way to know who she was, let alone that she was a hero. The lady couldn't even be sure she was a cape.

"Jiraiya, I'm an independent hero."

"Oh!"

Taylor surprised herself by feeling a little excited at the obvious recognition in the other ladies voice.

"Yes okay, you said around 12 gang members. Are any of them seriously hurt, and are you okay?"

That question prompted a reminder of her most recent fight, she did her best to suppress a shiver of disgust at the memory of her desperation and how she'd thumbed the man's eye.

"One eye injury that could be serious, the rest will be fine. I'm okay too," Taylor added belatedly

"Alright," the PRT woman's voice eased slightly, satisfied that the situation seemed well in hand. "We locked onto your phone and have a van en route. Miss Militia is coming as well. They should be there in 5 to 10 minutes"

Taylor felt a thrill of alarm. They could do that? Just lock onto her phone and find her? She lifted the phone away from her face, staring at it like it betrayed her. That would have to be fixed.

"Hello? Are you alright?"

The woman's voice snapped Taylor's attention back to the conversation at hand.

"Yes. Sorry, I'm fine. Thank you."

"No, thank you, Jiraiya. It's good to have more heroes out there."

And with that parting statement, the PRT woman hung up. Taylor decided she was far too tired to work out how she felt about that and slipped her phone back into her coat pocket.

With a sigh, she pulled her hood back over her head and made sure her mask was on properly. If they were coming, she didn't want to look like she'd almost just came out the wrong end of a fight. Straightening her red coat, she turned and left the room.

She came back to the main room of the warehouse to find it just as wrecked as the office she'd left, if on a larger scale. The amount of damage the toad brothers had done was really impressive. A bit frightening as well if she were honest with herself.

Taylor saw Gamakichi keeping a stern eye on the prisoners. The cognizant ABB members were all strangely silent aside from a few grumbles and curses, cowed his large size and alien appearance. Or maybe it was the way that Kichi was watching the light reflect off his blade, examining it for nicks that weren't there. He seemed to be doing his best to make sure that the gang members had a good view of him as he examined the weapon. Taylor couldn't say for sure, but she imagined he hadn't yet gotten over her close call, he wasn't usually so blatant.

Meanwhile, Gamatatsu was looking disappointedly at an empty bag of candy, oblivious to everything else. Peering inside it hopefully as if more would magically appear.

The swarm of smaller toads meanwhile, were busy oohing and ahhing over the large amount of money in the duffel bag. Taylor rolled her eyes when she saw that the toad scout with the green stripe had fashioned an impromptu throne out of the stacks of cash, croaking imperiously at his fellows.

Toads.

"PRT and Miss Militia inbound to take these guys off our hands," she said in response to the inquiring look from Gamakichi.

Gamakichi sheathed his blade in response to that. Correctly guessing that Superheroes and government employees might not be okay with openly threatening defeated and bound opponents with a naked blade.

"Anything we need to do before that?"

Taylor looked wistfully at the amount of destruction they'd wrought.

With a sigh, she shook her head in response to Kichi. It wasn't exactly the impression she wanted to give for her first official meeting with the Protectorate, but, there wasn't really anything that could be done about it.

"No. We should get rid of the money though. Technically legal or not, it's best not to step on toes if we don't have too."

In response, Gamakichi reached down and picked up a small stone and flicked it towards his brother.

They yellow toad yelped at the contact, finally distracted from the mourning of his empty candy bag.

"Take the bag of money home with you," Kichi spoke before his brother could complain at the rough treatment.

The toad looked ready to argue just on principle so Taylor interrupted. If she let them, the two could argue all day.

"Please Tatsu? I have your second bag of candy too."

At the magic words, Gamatatsu's mood immediately shifted. Sending a beaming smile toward his summoner, he hopped toward the bag, lifting it easily. Too distracted by the promise of more snacks he didn't notice that he'd deposed the scouting toad from its throne, sending it tumbling to the ground with an indignant croak.

She pulled out the second bag of candy and tossed it to the toad, Taylor barely withheld a sigh of exasperation when the Gamatatsu almost dropped the bag of money in his haste for the candy. She gave a weary wave goodbye in response to the yellow toads own cheerful one and in a puff of smoke, both the toad and the money was gone.

That dealt with, Taylor turned to the group of smaller toads who looked a little put out at the disappearance of the money they'd been playing with. The exasperation that came from Gamatatsu faded and she smiled at them genuinely behind her mask. They'd proven invaluable.

"You guys were amazing. Thank you, you can head home now."

The toads took a moment to preen and croak at each other smugly before giving her one final salute and disappearing in their own little clouds of smoke.

Without the distraction of the other toads and with Gamakichi busy watching over the gangsters, she was left to worry about meeting with the PRT, and more importantly in her mind, Miss Militia. Miss Militia was a respected, veteran hero. One of the first Wards in fact. Taylor wasn't exactly sure what the woman would think of what happened here.

On the one hand, she and the toads took out a whole stash house on their own. That was really impressive for a single cape, especially a new one. On the other hand, well, to say they had caused a bit of property damage would be a little bit of an understatement.

Unbeknownst to her, lost in thought as she was, Gamakichi was eyeing her with a frown. He recognized the way she stood. Shoulders hunched, arms crossed as though to defend against the world, face blank. It was the way she'd looked after a particularly bad day of school early on during her training. He could tell what was affecting her easily enough. There was only one thing it could really be right now as they waited for the PRT to arrive.

Unacceptable.

Grabbing her by the elbow and easily ignoring her startled protest, he led her away from the human trash. This conversation was not for their ears.

"Hey, relax."

Taylor's look of irritation at being pulled aside without explanation melted into confusion.

"What?"

"You have no reason to be nervous. Whether they approve you or not doesn't matter. When you were brought before pops and the elders, you told us that you would use our strength to be a hero and help people. These Protectorate heroes don't factor into it."

Gamakichi paused to make sure what he was saying was sinking in. Satisfied at the slightly stunned look in her eyes, he continued.

"Respect them if you think they deserve it. But don't let their opinions of you dictate how you feel about yourself as a hero and a person. You did good tonight. Mistakes or not, no one can take that from you."

Taylor stared at the toad in front of her. She really had to stop being surprised by him. She shook her head ruefully.

"Am I that obvious?" She asked rather than deny it.

Gamakichi scoffed in mock offense, "you think I don't know my own sis?"

Taylor smiled softly at the nickname. Somewhere along the line, it had morphed from a thing he did to irritate her to something more genuine.

"You're a hero," he reaffirmed seriously. "Being our summoner is proof enough of that. The Toads wouldn't settle for anything less."

Taylor bowed her head in an effort to conceal how much his words had affected her.

"Thank you."

Before Gamakichi could respond they were interrupted by the sound of a vehicle pulling up. She took a steadying breath, listening to the sound of doors opening and boots hitting the ground. Taylor didn't feel so nervous after their talk anymore, now she was just determined.

As Gamakichi went back to keep watch over the captives Taylor headed towards the exit to greet their guests.

"Holy shit." Said a male voice, presumably one of the PRT officers.

"Quiet Owens," replied another unknown voice, male as well.

Well, Taylor thought wryly, they saw what her toads did to the place. Stepping through the new door the toad brothers had put into the building she was greeted with the sight of a squad of PRT officers, two of whom wore the PRT's signature containment foam throwers and Miss Militia. The PRT officers tensed slightly as she approached. Taylor wasn't offended, she wasn't very well known, and these were otherwise normal people who often faced off against capes. She figured that they had plenty of reason to be on their guard.

She took a second to appreciate the older hero. Dressed in military fatigues, though Taylor doubted any official military uniform in the world showed off curves the way Miss Militia's did and armed with a heavy green pistol at her side. Her face was hidden by an American flag bandanna. It should have looked tacky, but Miss Militia managed to make it look like a respectful homage to the country she protected. Taylor's eyes widened slightly as the pistol shifted into a whirring mass of green energy before settling into the shape of a combat knife strapped to her opposite thigh.

It was always interesting, and a little amazing to see powers at work. Especially when they weren't imminently threatening her wellbeing.

For lack of anything to say Taylor nodded in greeting to the other hero.

"Jiraiya," Miss Militia greeted in response, looking at the damage wrought to the building carefully. "It looks like you had an eventful night."

Taylor noticed that the veteran hero showed none of the shock some of the PRT officers had displayed.

"There were a lot of them," she offered in response, leading the group into the building. "We thought it best to take as many out as we could while we still had the element of surprise."

"We?" The hero asked in response.

Taylor hesitated slightly. She had thought about this for a long time. There were some advantages to letting others believe that her toads were merely projections, automatons, instruments of her will. For one, it wouldn't freak people out. Master's that could create intelligent life were heavily scrutinized especially if they could breed. They were too dangerous not too. So in a lot of ways, it would be best for her to not volunteer the information. Even if she hadn't done a great job of hiding it in the presence of Clockblocker and Vista. Actually, she'd told them straight out. Taylor was confident that she could have passed it off as a personal quirk if she really had too. Myrddin had his whole magic thing, it would hardly be the strangest cape quirk out there. However, she couldn't bring herself to pretend that her toads were less than what they were. Not after all they had done for her.

"We," she affirmed, "me and my toads."

Miss Militia raised an eyebrow at that, but before she could ask any more questions they found themselves in the main body of the warehouse where Kichi was back to standing guard over the ABB members. Seeing them approach, he backed off and let the PRT officers approach.

Taylor watched, impressed as the PRT officers quickly and efficiently rounded up, examined, and led the gang members back to their van. In what seemed like no time at all, the gang members were safely in the van and the woman who seemed to be in charge of the PRT officers walked up to Militia.

"Thirteen members in all, with slight to moderate injuries. The only one that might be serious was an eye injury. We can't be sure here, but the medic thinks that he might have permanent damage."

"He's the one in charge I think. I found him in a back room, he was strangling me so I thumbed him in the eye. I panicked. Also, in the back room, they had a stash of money and drugs that he was trying to make off with," she said gesturing toward the room.

Taylor was careful to keep her voice even. She very carefully didn't think too much about the potential permanent injury to the enforcer. It wasn't the right place for that.

The PRT officer gave a nod at the information and left to go investigate.

Rather than condemning, Militia looked concerned.

"Are you alright Jiraiya?" She gave the younger hero a more careful examination, checking for injury.

"Yeah, I'm okay."

Taylor fought not to fidget under the skeptical gaze. It was still an odd thing to have someone ask after her well-being, even if Kichi made sure that she was slowly getting used to it. Taylor looked away for something to distract herself. She watched as the PRT officer from earlier made her way back, drugs in one hand and the duffle bag with cash and jewels in the other.

"You know," her attention was drawn back to the older hero. Miss Militia was looking at her carefully. "The Wards exist for this very reason. It's not just about training. It's a support structure. You have people to help you no matter what situation you find yourself in."

Taylor tried to think of an answer that wouldn't offend the other hero. It wasn't just the idea of being in superhero high school that stopped her. The Protectorate and Wards have been around a while. Yet the Bay had been in the state it was for as long as she could remember. Maybe it was arrogant but she was going to help the city, and she was going to do it her way.

Miss Militia must have read something in her expression because she sighed lightly before smiling a little at the independent hero.

"It's okay, but please keep us in mind. If you're not a part of us, it's still good to keep an open line of communication. You don't have to be with us to be our ally. And the door is always open."

Taylor nodded in response, not sure of what to say. She felt a little bad about rejecting the offer. Miss Militia seemed nice, and Clockblocker and Vista had left good impressions as well. But, it just wasn't for her.

"Besides," a voice intruded on their conversation, "she's never alone."

Taylor jumped almost a foot into the air at the unexpected interruption. Whirling around, she punched Kichi in the shoulder.

"Jerk! How did you sneak up on me like that?"

"Ninja," the toad replied smugly.

Taylor's response to that was halted by the sound of laughter behind her. She felt a flush instantly creep up her neck suffuse her cheeks at the sound. Turning slowly to the other hero she tried to come up with a response but came up blank.

Thankfully for what was left of her dignity, the patriotic-themed hero's attention was on her summon.

"From what Clockblocker and Vista have said, you would be Gamakichi correct?"

Miss Militia raised an eyebrow when Gamakichi pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a flare of chakra in response.

Taylor felt like smashing her head into a wall. Did he really have to show off now?

Taking a deep inhale, the toad eyed her speculatively.

"That the clock dork and the cute kid?"

Oh god.

While Taylor was desperately wishing to be anywhere but here, Miss Militia surprised her by giving a soft laugh.

"I'll have to let him know about your name for him."

The military hero was doing a remarkable job of talking to Gamakichi as though it was a normal thing to have a conversation with a toad larger than she was.

"I should warn you, master class capes that can control intelligent life is something that raises a lot of alarms. I am not threatening you, but you should be aware of the stigma associated with your power."

Taylor straightened to attention, listening as the Protectorate Hero unknowingly echoed her earlier thoughts.

The PRT cape seemed reluctant as she spoke. The older woman seemed uncomfortable with the topic of conversation. As though she didn't really want to talk about it but felt dutybound to make sure that the newer cape understood they way people felt and what it might mean for her.

Taylor felt her admiration for the gun hero raise even higher. Thankfully, she already had an answer prepared. She had done a lot of research on powers after coming into her own. Especifically powers similar to hers. There weren't that many Master capes around and even fewer had powers like hers. Disturbingly, it seemed like a trend that a lot of the capes that did have them tended to be villains.

"It's not as bad as you think," Taylor reassured. "They are intelligent but my power doesn't work like Blasto or Nilbog or something. I have to bring them here, I don't create them. And it costs me energy for them to stay here. It isn't indefinite. If I tried to summon too many or keep them here too long, I'd pass out or worse."

That was actually only partially true. While it did cost energy to summon, unless it was one of the more exotic or specialized techniques, it didn't cost anything to maintain their presence. The toads could stay until they were either injured and had to leave, or bored and decided to go themselves.

She also didn't mention the entire alternate dimension her summons inhabited. That was no one's business but her own.

Still, her speech seemed to assure the older hero as she relaxed slightly.

"I'll be sure to send that information along to the director."

Taylor stood there awkwardly, not really sure what to do. Taylor still wasn't the best when it came to interacting socially and privately, she doubted that she ever would be. It just wasn't one of her strengths.

Thankfully Gamakichi was around to pick up the slack.

"We should really get going sis. Oh and hey," he said, turning his attention to the weapon-wielding hero, "tell the clock kid thanks for the help against Hookwolf. He really had some good timing."

The toad waited a beat to let what he said sink in before snickering.

Taylor finally gave in and groaned at the pun. Nonetheless, she agreed with her partner, it was really time to go. Waving goodbye to the other hero, she turned and began to climb up Kichi but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She ignored the way Kichi tensed slightly at the contact and turned toward Miss Militia questioningly.

"I want you to know that you did well tonight. Not many heroes could do what you did on your own. And," her eyes squinted into a smile that was hidden behind her bandanna, "I like your new costume."

"Thank you," Taylor said genuinely. A grin threatened to break out at the compliment. She knew her costume was awesome, that Miss Militia agreed was even better.

"But, like he said. I'm never on my own."

And with that, she vaulted onto her partner and they leaped away from the hero.


	14. Growth 3-4

Growth 3.4

Taylor stood in front of her bathroom mirror, shirt held up to reveal a flat stomach. Normally the sight would send a small boost of confidence, a visible testament to the hard work she'd put into her training, currently, however, her attention was absorbed by an impressive bruise. A mix of dark purples and sickly green painted the landscape of her ribs.

She saw her reflection grimace at the sight. The ABB thug hadn't been pulling any punches. Gingerly she prodded her side experimentally only to regret it immediately. Wincing at the pain, she shook her head and lowered her shirt.

No way would she be able to do anything hero related today. She could only be grateful it was the weekend because she wasn't sure that she could handle school in this state either. Especially if Sophia felt like getting physical.

Truthfully, even if she'd been feeling fine Taylor didn't think she would go out again today. She had been able to distract herself with handing over the gang members to the PRT and meeting Miss Militia. Then she had been so tired once she'd gotten home she had fallen asleep almost immediately.

Now, though, in the light of day, Taylor couldn't help but focus on how close last night was. And how easily it could have all gone badly. Maybe even fatally.

A buzzing sound distracted her from further thought. She was still getting used to having a phone. Grabbing it, she opened up her messages and flinched.

4 missed messages all from Parian. Each asking how last night had gone and getting progressively more worried. A stone pit of guilt settled uncomfortably in her stomach as she read through them. She wasn't used to having people ask after her and it looked like she was already messing up with her new friend.

To: Parian

From: Jiraiya

Message: Sorry, I'm alright. Took out an ABB stash house. PRT picked them up. No problems.

Sighing she set her phone back down on the counter. She felt bad about hiding how shaky things had gotten last night, but she didn't want to worry her. It turned out okay and she was fine in the end.

Taylor gave a last look in the mirror, taking in the dark circles under the eyes of her reflection. Groaning softly, she shook her head, dismissing the image in the mirror and left the bathroom.

Maybe it would be better to go over what she did wrong last night, but truthfully she just wanted to forget about all of that today. Maybe she was shaken up because she was still new to being a cape and fighting, and yesterday was a dangerously close call. Maybe it was something else. She just couldn't bring herself to analyze it right now.

No, she reaffirmed to herself as she made her way downstairs to the kitchen. Today would be for Taylor, Jiraiya could wait for a bit.

She stopped in surprise at the entry way to the kitchen. Her dad was sitting at their rickety kitchen table, thin body hunched over a newspaper and a cup of coffee in his hand. She was surprised to see him home.

Taylor held back a frown at the sight. Things must have been really slow down at the docks. Usually, he was there almost every day, trying to scrape up enough work for him and all of his workers.

He didn't like to talk about it, but Taylor could tell that things were getting more and more desperate. Really, he didn't like to talk much at all these days.

She was surprised and ashamed with the bitterness of her own thoughts. Things between them had been strained since her mom died. She knew intellectually that he loved her, just as much as she loved him. But sometimes, when it was just the two of them, he seemed distant, almost like he was at a loss with how to interact with her. Sometimes it was almost like they were roommates.

Not that she made it easy she acknowledged, chastising herself. She was hardly what could be considered an extrovert at even the best of times.

The frown manifested as she realized the rabbit trail her thoughts had fallen down. It seemed her mind couldn't let go of the heavy topics today.

Realizing that she was basically hiding from her own father in her own home Taylor let out a long exhale and walked into the kitchen.

Her father looked up at the sound of her steps and gave a tired smile in greeting.

"Morning bug, or should I say afternoon. Just barely beat the noon whistle there."

Her lips twitched into a small smile at the nickname. Her mother had always called her Little Owl, and her dad Bug. Hearing it caused a tension in her to ease. He must have been having an okay day if he called her that and could make a lame joke.

"I had trouble sleeping," she offered in response while she opened a cupboard and grabbed a tea bag.

Her father hummed in response. She began preparing a cup of tea with long practiced ease and didn't notice the slight frown curling at the edge of her father's mouth.

Taking in the sight of his daughters dark easy and slow movements, the frown grew a little more pronounced.

"Are you feeling alright?"

Taylor jolted at the question and almost dropped the kettle full of water. She busied herself with putting it on the stove and turning up the heat as she calmed herself down.

Distant or not, her father was an intelligent man, and he rarely missed much. He wouldn't have survived as long as he had as head of the dockworkers union if he couldn't read people.

Turning to face him she smiled in what she hoped was a convincing manner.

"Yea I'm okay, just a bit of a headache. Probably from not getting enough sleep."

Her dad gave her an evaluating look. He didn't look like he believed her, but thankfully he let it go.

"If you're sure," he said slowly as he turned back to his paper.

Taylor's smile shifted into a frown once her father's attention was drawn away from her. She knew it didn't make sense, and that it was what she had been aiming for in the first place, but a part of her felt a little betrayed that he hadn't pressed further. Or maybe just sad.

The whistle of the kettle distracted her from dwelling on her conflicting feelings. Lifting the kettle off the stove, she poured the water into her favorite mug. A chipped, limited edition Mouse Protector mug that had belonged to her mother. Dipping the tea bag into the mug Taylor berated herself again for her depressing musings. It seemed she was just determined to think on things that made her feel sad in some way.

She sat at the table across from her dad and carefully blew into the steaming mug of tea to cool it down.

Slowly drinking her tea she felt herself relax a bit and zone out, losing herself in a familiar ritual. It was towards the end of her cup that her father spoke again.

"How do you feel about a movie day?"

Taylor lifted her gaze towards her dad at the random suggestion.

Seeing her confusion, he elaborated.

"It's been a while since we've done something together. I don't have to be at the docks until tomorrow, and you look like you could a distraction."

Ah.

Well, that answered that. She should have known her dad wouldn't let it go. As distant as he could be at times, it was things like this that reminded her of how it used to be.

And besides, didn't she say that today was for Taylor?

"I'll go get ready," she said with a smile as she got up and put her mug in the sink.

She couldn't quite get rid of her smile as she got ready for bed later that night. Today had been a great day. Truthfully, it had been exactly what she had needed to take her mind off things.

* * *

They had ended up going to Fugly's for lunch and catching an Aleph import at the theatre. A crazy sci-fi movie that she barely paid attention too. She had been distracted. Taylor couldn't remember the last time she and her dad had gone out and done something, just the two of them. Her mom dying, and the endless bullying hadn't helped either. Her dad caught up in work and grief, and her, struggling with the bullies and her own grief.

It had culminated in a divide between the two of them. She hadn't realized how wide it had gotten until today.

It had still been awkward at times. Conversation was stilted and a little awkward. Neither of them was naturally socially inclined. But it had been nice regardless. Taylor had never doubted her father loved her, but it was still nice to see it so plainly.

Gingerly easing herself onto her bed, the bruised girl let out a groan as the movement irritated her bruise. With a relieved sigh, she settled into bed and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

It was nearly a week later that she found herself in her costume again. Her side was still bruised though the colors were thankfully much lighter than the dark molted mess it had been. Pain echoed slightly as she stretched, and she moved a little more stiffly than usual, but it was manageable.

The summoner couldn't stop a smile as she began the familiar motions of a summon. It had been a while since she'd summoned one of her toads. The longest time she'd gone without seeing one of them since she had discovered her powers. It would be good to see them again.

The smoke from her summoning dissipated to reveal bright red toad.

"Hey boss," Kosuke said cheerily, giving her a sloppy salute in greeting.

"Hey Ko, how have you been."

"Good, good," replied the perpetually cheerful toad as he started walking. "And you boss? How was school? And your injury?"

The red-clothed hero snorted at the question as she followed the messenger toad.

"You can tell Kichi I'm fine. And school was okay, same as always for the most part."

"Most part?" The crimson toad questioned as he peered around an alleyway to make sure the coast was clear.

"Well," the girl began with a thoughtful frown, "the bullies were the same as always, and the teachers are just as useless as ever. But, Greg's been acting a little weird."

"That's the kid that's always talking to you yea?"

Following the toad down the deserted alley, Taylor made noises of agreement.

"But he's been quiet lately, looking a little distracted, I don't know. We aren't really close. It doesn't really matter in the end. We're here because you wanted to show me something remember? Where are we going?"

The toad accepted the change of subject graciously and began explaining to his summoner.

"As you know, me and the other messenger toads have been scouting the city. Mapping out gang territories, looking for anything interesting, and just getting familiar with this world in general. Well, a while ago one of my scouts found something… well interesting to say the least."

"What was it?" Taylor asked, curious despite herself.

The red toad paused his movement looked back at his summoner.

"Let's just say you'll have to see it for yourself."

The brunette frowned at her ally but didn't respond. She trusted her toads, and if Ko wanted to have a little fun with his secret, she wouldn't deny him that.

She was, however, thankful that the tightness in her side had loosened a bit as they'd continued their trek through Brockton. Taylor hadn't thought they were going to go so far. They were heading right for the edge of the docks before it turned into downtown. As far as downtown went, it wasn't yet far enough away from the docks to be a good neighborhood. That and sitting right on the edge of the two largest gangs in the city made the area they were in a dangerous area of the city. The ABB and Empire weren't above attacking the other to remind their rival gang where the lines were drawn from time to time.

They seemed to be nearing their destination though because Kosuke was slowing down and being much more vigilant about remaining unseen. Finally after a little more walking they came to a stop in front of a dilapidated, boarded-up apartment building.

Feeling his summoner's incredulous stare at his back the toad hurried to explain.

"I know what it looks like," Kosuke explained to his summoner, "we thought the same. This place is abandoned as far as we can tell. The surrounding apartment buildings are too for the most part aside from some squatters. We didn't expect much from this place, but we like to be thorough. Trust me boss," the toad continued as they slipped around to a side entrance that the toads had made sure was unlocked earlier, "you'll be glad we did."

Taylor looked at him skeptically but didn't say anything as she followed him into the abandoned apartment complex. While she may not have said anything, privately as they walked through the building with crumbling foundation and rotted furniture, she couldn't help but wonder if her toads were playing a prank on her.

Following the toad to the lower level, she looked on in confusion as they entered one of the few basement apartments. It was just as rundown as the rest of the place, not that she expected differently at this point.

And so she was incredibly surprised when the toad hurried to the center of what she assumed in its better days was supposed to be a living room and pulled away a tattered rug to reveal a heavy door fitted into the ground.

"What the?" she breathed in confusion, "What is this, and how did you even find this place?"

Kosuke looked smug now as he answered her later question.

"Ninja," he spoke as if it should have been obvious.

Of course, that seemed to be their explanation for anytime they did something impressive. Shaking that off, she gestured toward the doorway.

"Where does it go?"

With a grunt, the small toad lifted the door, which she now noticed had a broken lock presumably from the first toad to discover the entry way to reveal a set of iron steps descending into darkness.

"Well boss," Kosuke spoke with a teasing grin as he adjusted his goggles, "why don't you see for yourself."

Taylor looked from her summon back to the stairway. Well, she couldn't deny she was curious now.

As she descended down the stairs, her footsteps ringing on the metal steps, one of her mother's favorite lines came to the forefront of her mind.

'Once more unto the breach.'

* * *

AN - Okay, so some things came up. Deadpool, an early copy of Street Fighter 5 (you can find literally anything in China Town, I think I saw someone selling curses), and less fun and which had the most impact, I've been really sick, so I haven't uploaded much. But, its been nearly 3 weeks and I wanted to get something out there. Sorry for the wait.

Huge thanks to everyone that reviews! We hit the 100 mark, that's really incredible. Thank you guys, I appreciate it a lot.

Finally, to the reviewes/messages I've been getting voicing dissatisfaction at the inclusion of more villains/oc's for no apparent reason. Well, sorry to tell you, but there is actually 2 oc villains for the ABB, not just one. However, please don't assume that I've added them for no reason. Especially since only one of them has appeared, and only a single appearance at at that. Not to mention, we are still very early in the time line. So yea, little trust is all.

If anyone is curious as to the main reason I made the oc villains feel free to ask me and I'll tell you in a message.


	15. Growth 3-5

Growth 3.5

The sound of her steps echoing on the metal steps through what appeared to be a tunnel was disconcerting. The young hero did her best not to let it affect her, but she couldn't deny that she was glad for Kosuke's company.

Logically she knew that whatever she encountered, it wouldn't be dangerous. Not if her toads already scouted it out, and the fact that Ko didn't insist she summon a more battle-capable toad was doubly reassuring.

She paused in her walk down the steps, tensing as the tunnel gave a shuddery groan. With a guttering flicker and a soft hum, lights flared feebly to life, illuminating the stairs.

The steps were coated with dust, and the air was musty and stale. She wouldn't have been surprised to find that she was the first human to walk these steps in years

Okay, this was officially creepy. Standing still and letting her eyes adjust she looked to the toad for an explanation.

"Motion sensors," the Ko answered with an easy shrug, completely at ease.

Making a soft noise of acknowledgement she continued down the steps with more confidence now that she could see where she was going. Taylor was getting more and more curious the further they walked. She was no architect, but she was fairly certain an apartment complex shouldn't have a structure so far below the ground.

It took a minute longer of walking before their progress was halted by the appearance of a door. Though, she really didn't think calling it a door was completely accurate. It was a large metal affair. Slightly rusted with age, she could tell from the size of the brackets it was thick and heavy as well.

"We left it open after we discovered it," interrupted her crimson companion.

Taylor acknowledged the words by reaching up and bracing herself, before heaving the heavy barrier open. With an echoing groan from rust and disuse, the heavy obstruction reluctantly opened to confirm the girls growing suspicions.

A cape base.

There could be no other explanation for a mysterious room hidden underground. Abandoned too probably given the state of the apartment building and the rusted door.

A thrill of excitement lit within her as she stepped inside. Brockton Bay had a long and very active cape scene. One of the most active in the country, and it had been since before her father. As a Bay native, she knew this. But it was another thing entirely to be confronted with a physical reminder of that fact. If it wasn't too ruined with age, it could also prove to be extremely useful for her own cape identity.

No, she chided herself gently, she was getting ahead of herself. First she had to find out who this belonged too and if there was any chance that its owners might come back some day.

The inside of the… what did she call this place? A lair, base, hideout?

Regardless, it was very nice, if dusty. The door opened up into a large circular room, more motion activated lights came to life at the door opening. The floors were a nice hardwood and it had what looked like expensive plush leather chairs and a sofa formed in a circle.

A meeting place perhaps?

Walking with care so as to not disturb the large amount of dust, Taylor made her way to the center of the room.

Kosuke for his part hopped onto one of the worn chairs and looked content to relax as his summoner explored what he and his messengers had discovered.

Deciding there was nothing else to see, she finished crossing the room to the doorway at the opposite end. Walking through it led to a short hallway which opened up into another room. She was noticing a theme to this place. All of the furniture was of high quality and the décor was tasteful. Seeming to favor hardwood and rich colors. It certainly didn't feel like an underground hideout, it had an almost lived in feel despite its abandonment. This room was occupied by a pool table and various furniture set in a more haphazard manner than the previous room.

The first was for business and this one was for relaxation maybe? She wasn't really experienced in common design plans for hidden lairs.

Taylor methodically checked the seven doors that lead from what she decided was the recreation room. The first revealed a bathroom, with nice look copper fixtures that were tinged with green from age.

The second door lead to a small kitchen area. It smelled strongly of spoiled food so she hurried through her examination. It seemed mundane as far as kitchens went. It was almost disappointing, considering this was an obviously secret base. She supposed she just expected something a little more mysterious for lack of a better word. She did find what looked like another exit though. She supposed it made sense. If someone found this place, it would be possibly disastrous to not have another way out.

Leaving the kitchen, she went through the rest of the rooms attached to the rec-room. The first four were all pretty uniform. They opened into mostly identical bedrooms. The rooms weren't that large and were mostly identical. Continuing the theme they were again furnished with what looked to be quality furnishings. A small twin sized bed, a mirror, and a dresser. Not very interesting overall, but it made sense. And if she decided to use this place, it would be good to have a backup place to stay if she ever needed it.

The last door was different however.

Her eyes widened and her mouth went dry. It opened up into a short hallway that ended in another door. Inlaid into the door was ebony wood in the shape of a large stylized M.

There wasn't a single person in Brockton Bay that didn't know what that symbol meant, even a little over 10 years after his capture.

Marquis.

Nervousness threatened to overwhelm her and she felt herself go into overdrive. Tense and ready to react at the slightest of stimuli. It was only when the reality of the situation settled in that she was able to relax her body.

A large exhale left her body in a whoosh. Taylor hadn't even realized she'd been holding her breath. Slowly she unclenched her fists and settled down into a facsimile of calm.

Marquis was a name that was for the most part before her time. But he'd left a mark regardless. She remembered vaguely when she was young, her parents worried talk when they thought she couldn't hear or understand.

He had been a major figure in the Brockton Bay cape scene. Marquis had gone toe to toe with the most dangerous villains in the Bay. Some of the most dangerous in the country in fact. From the Teeth to the Allfather. He had taken New Wave and the PRT. He had even fought Jack Slash and the Nine. And for all his professed geniality and gentlemen persona, he had a habit of disappearing those that disagreed with or failed him. The bone shaper was not someone to be trifled with.

Such was his reputation that even though Taylor knew he was locked away in the birdcage, she found herself reluctant to walk through that door.

…

Stupid.

It was one of those obvious realizations. Something that you knew, but didn't impact you like it should until you were confronted with it. She was so stupid. Being afraid of a man who was locked away in the most secure prison on the planet. She chose to be a hero, to use her powers to help people. She had already faced off with villains, each extremely dangerous in their own ways.

Taylor knew that she would encounter villains and other dangers. She accepted that when she told the toads of her resolve, when she accepted their training, and when she stepped up to help Parian on her first patrol.

So what was she doing standing outside of a door, afraid of a memory?

So stupid.

With renewed resolve she walked towards the door, her stride even and confident. Taylor opened the door and stepped into the room.

It was a little underwhelming. She hadn't known what she was expecting. Something to justify her nervousness maybe. It was just another bedroom, though larger than the others. Furnished with a large queen sized bed and an expensive looking nightstand and dresser. An ornate mirror hung over the dresser. Walking around, she noted that the room had its own attached bathroom. It made sense that the best room would belong to the person in charge though, so she wasn't too surprised.

There was little to note really. Even the dresser was empty. Nothing in the room hinted at anything about its owner aside from the fine quality of its furnishings and the tasteful design.

Taylor made to leave when she caught something out of the corner of her eye. Curious, she made her way to the nightstand by the bed. A lone picture frame was perched on the nightstand facing the pillows.

Picking it up, wiped away the film of dust from the surface. Her eyes widened as it revealed the picture of a young girl who couldn't have been older than five years old. The little girl was beaming at the camera, a wide smile revealed a gap from a missing tooth. Brown hair framed the round face with messy curls.

Slowly, carefully, she set the photograph back down onto the nightstand.

Funny, she hadn't felt like she was intruding until just then.

Did that mean Marquis had a daughter?

She exited the room, mind awhirl with the possibilities. It was a strange, and uncomfortable feeling to realize that someone as ruthless and dangerous as Marquis had people that he loved, and who no doubt loved him in return.

A reminder that the world was not just cruel, but complicated as well.

"So, what do ya think boss?" Kosuke greeted as she made her way back to the room he had been lounging in.

He looked so very smug that Taylor had to smile.

"It's excellent," she replied honestly.

And it really was. She couldn't even imagine the logistics of trying to set up a base for herself. It would be nearly impossible, and the end result would not be nearly as good as what the toads had found.

"Good," the speedy toad replied pleased. "Now," he continued in a more serious bent, "were you able to figure out who this belonged to? Do we have to worry about the previous owner coming back?"

Taylor thought back to her panic when she figured out who previously occupied this base.

"No."

The little red toad grinned.

"Well alright, let's get started then. We got a lot of work ahead of us if we want this place to get back up to shape."

The toad gave another more thorough look around the room they occupied, taking in the layers of dust and spider web that particularly coated the place.

"We might need some backup," he amended.

Taylor gave a theatrical groan at the idea of the work ahead but nonetheless brought her hands up to summon some reinforcements.

The toads, a mighty, noble, and near legendary summon were going to be brought forth to lend their strength against the mighty dust bunny army.

Finishing the seals Taylor sighed, she was definitely going to have to do some serious convincing.

* * *

The toads, after some initial grumbling at the idea of cleaning, had been happy with the new space. Some of the more paranoid ones, Kichi included, were glad to have a more hidden and defensible location to fall back to in case of emergency

It took almost three days of continuous work from Taylor and the toads to get their new base to be something that could be called habitable. The dust and time had taken a toll on the area. Some of the furniture had to be thrown out, and a lot of the appliances in the kitchen were no longer any good. Not to mention the rotten food left in the kitchen. It still smelled. Taylor had used some of the money from the stash house just to buy enough cleaning supplies to fight against the years of neglect.

They had even enlisted Parian to help once the place became something resembling clean. After taking the time to fully appreciate just what her new friend and her toads had found, the doll girl immediately got to work.

In exchange for the rogue's help, Taylor had offered her access to the new base… lair… she still couldn't decide, whenever the shorter girl might want it.

The Middle Eastern girl had waved it off as unnecessary though she had looked pleased with the offer. She had insisted, and eventually the older girl agreed. If nothing else, Taylor supposed it was a positive mark for her fledgling friendship with Sabah that she hadn't even thought twice before offering.

Taylor sighed as she finished putting the new bedding down onto one of Marquis' old room. She wasn't sure why she had decided to furnish all the rooms since Sabah was the only other person that knew of the place aside from a sense of thoroughness, but she figured it couldn't hurt. The place was far cleaner than the last time she had been her, though she had made sure that they didn't throw away the picture of the little girl. She hadn't even let the others see it. It felt wrong that she had seen it.

Taylor couldn't bring herself to do it. Something that was obviously cherished and thought upon often, given how it faced the pillows, it would be like someone throwing away a picture of her mother. She had cleaned it and placed it on the nightstand for lack of a better place.

A reminder that no matter how terrible a person could be, things were never as cut and dry as they appeared.

Taylor let out a satisfied groan as she arched into a full bodied stretch.

Who knew cleaning could be so exhausting?

She wasn't wearing her battle jacket for a change and so as she released the stretch she found her eyes track to the top of her forearm. Opposite the tattoo on the inside of her forearm that she received on her trigger was a long pale scar, nearly six inches in length.

The wound from Alabaster had healed, but it had left an indelible mark on her body. It was a pain to keep hidden from her father, but she had no reasonable explanation to give for such a large scar suddenly appearing on her body.

Taylor could admit that she hated it at first. Just another addition to a long list of physical imperfections. It had been Kichi that set her straight, as was his habit lately.

Be proud, he had told her. He had referred to it as a symbol. A symbol of the failure of her enemy to defeat her, and of her own success in surviving her first battle. A warrior's mark.

And while Taylor had been privately skeptical at the last remark, the conversation had helped. The scar had turned from something ugly into a symbol of, if not pride, than success. A symbol that maybe she was heading in the right direction with her cape career.

Shaking off her reminiscing she left the master bedroom and headed to the rec-room. The independent hero felt a sense of pride at the change from the severely neglected room she had discovered.

The dust was gone completely. In its placed was a shiny wood floor, furnished with a large plush carpet that Sabah had picked out. The few chairs that could be salvaged from both the rec-room and the meeting room had been moved to the smaller room. They were joined by a mish-mash of comfortable looking sofas and a low table in the middle. She had no doubt that the previous tenant would have disproved of the lack of cohesion and the poor quality in comparison with the originals, but she found it nice. Almost like home.

She and Sabah had spent half a day hunting through the thrift shops that surrounded the market-place looking for furniture. Once she had gotten over her nerves, it had been one of the most fun afternoons Taylor could remember having in a long time.

A bare stand stood at a wall for a TV, but she really didn't know how they were going to work out cable or internet. Having that installed by professionals would be impossible for obvious reasons. They would eventually have to find a solution to the heating and air-conditioning as well. She wasn't sure where they were drawing electricity from for the lights, but the central air wasn't working anymore. A large cork board that she had gotten on a whim dominated the adjacent wall.

Grabbing her jacket from the back of a sofa Taylor made her way back to the meeting room waving a greeting to Sabah who had the same idea. The older girl was sitting against the wall drinking a bottle of water. The meeting room was bare now, since what furniture could be saved had been moved to the other room. Taylor wasn't sure what to do with the space yet, but at least it was clean now.

"Hey," the older girl greeted with a smile only to turn into a frown as she took in the scar on Taylor's arm.

"Something wrong?" Taylor asked curiously.

The frown faded as Sabah smiled reassuringly at the taller girl.

"Just a little tired," she offered.

"Same here."

The two settled into companionable silence as they took a break from the cleaning.

"I wish you would have told me you got hurt during the ABB raid," Parian spoke, breaking the silence.

Taylor turned to her companion in surprise.

"How did you—Kichi," she said, answering her own half question.

Any explanation she had to offer faltered under the recrimination in the fabric manipulator's stare. It wasn't often in their brief friendship that Taylor felt the age difference between the two of them. However, under the chiding gaze of the other woman, Taylor felt herself fidgeting awkwardly at the obvious disappointment.

"I'm sorry."

"It is okay," Parian accepted graciously. "But I consider us to be friends now, and I worry about you when you are on patrol."

"I… I'm still getting used to it," the brunette answered, adjusting her glasses self-consciously.

"You don't have to explain, I just wanted you to know is all."

"Thank you."

A large toad of a similar size to Gamakichi entered the room before any awkwardness could settle between the two.

Gamariki was perhaps one of her strangest toads. Colored in a light green with yellow markings over his body, he looked more like a frog than a toad, though Taylor had been wise enough to never voice that thought within hearing distance. He also wore eyeliner, emphasizing his purple eyes, blush on his cheeks, and lipstick in a daring shade of red that Taylor wouldn't have been brave enough to wear had she been the type to use makeup. The final piece of the look was the large pink bow on his back

"Taylor-chan," his voice was high-pitched and as flamboyant as the toad himself, "I've sent the others home already. It's been a long day, why don't you and your friend head home?"

Thinking it over, she was decided when she saw the relief on the other cape's face at the suggestion.

"Sure, thank you for all the help Riki, and thank the others for me too when you get back."

The effeminate toad let out a throaty chuckle, waving off her thanks energetically, "not at all, it's the least we could do." Turning to the shorter girl, "the place is looking marvelous by the way," he said with a wink. Waving to the girls, the toad disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Climbing back to her feet as the smoke thinned out, Taylor walked over to Sabah and offered her a hand. Easily pulling the smaller girl to her feet, the headed out the main exit. Closing the door with newly oiled hinges and locking the new lock, the pair made their way up the stairs toward the abandoned apartment complex.

As Parian moved the old rug in the apartment to cover the hidden entryway, Taylor slipped her coat back on. A sense of security followed soon after. She was really coming to love the thing. Adjusting her mask before they left the building, she looked over to Parian to see a doll's face looking back at her, the older rogue having had the same idea.

"Thank you for all your help the past few days," Taylor spoke as they started walking to leave the building, both to fill the silence and because it needed to be said.

"Not at all," the other cape waved off, "besides, it was pretty interesting. I've been a cape for a while now, but I'm generally on the fringe of things. It was fascinating to see another cape's base, especially one so notorious."

Taylor nodded in agreement, once she'd gotten over who had previously owned the place, it was pretty interesting. Especially to a native of the Bay.

"Well, don't be a stranger," the rogue said as they prepared to part outside the complex.

Taylor was about to respond when she saw something over the shoulder of the smaller cape that caused her eyes to widen.

"What is it?"

Turning around to see what distracted the toad cape Parian took in a sharp breath.

"Oh, that's not good," she breathed worriedly.

A few blocks away, a boiling pillar of steam pierced the sky.

* * *

AN - Alright, so felt a bit bad about how long the last chapter took, so here's another one. As always thanks for reading, and doubly so for reviewing. I do my best to answer all reviews, especially questions, so if you're curious about something, feel free to ask.

Special thanks to the people who have been reviewing pretty much every chapter, **Greatazuredragon, Dead Pann, xbox432 (100th review!), Indecisive Bob, Lucker13, Law77, Mingyu, knolden,** **and to anyone else I forgot, I'm sorry it's nearly 3 am here and I'm still sick.**

Finally, since this is getting a little old, this is the last time I'm going to address this. I wouldn't do this in the AN but the person reviewed as guest so I can't respond normally.

Guest 1 - First, getting a little rude with "Bushido seems to be a completely superfluous character with no justification except your not understanding that no one wnats to read about your own original characters ins a fanfic."

Second, in answer to the earlier part of the review, which mentions Greg and the Chemist, you should maybe re-read that a bit more carefully. The identity of the Chem tinker is stated in the chapter.

Finally, in answer to the quoted part, if you had asked instead of assumed, I could have told you that it isn't the specific cape that's important, it's the increased number of capes the ABB has which will play a role in the future. Using one of my OC characters establishes both that the ABB has more capes than in canon, and who one of them is. Using Oni Lee for instance in the interlude while possible I guess, would be fairly awkward to try and work in the fact that the ABB have more capes, since you know, he doesn't really talk much.

Sorry if that was bitchy, but well... whatever, that's that. Thank you for the review.


	16. Growth 3-6

Growth 3.6

 **Parian**

The doll girl stared at the boiling pillar of steam feeling her mouth go dry. Unless Lung had decided to take a dip in the lake in dragon form, there was only one cape that could be.

Bushido.

A relatively new cape to Brockton. Bushido may have been new, but he hadn't been idle during his time in the bay. His reputation for brutality was already being compared to the likes of Hookwolf.

She had kept an ear to the ground when the new ABB capes had first appeared. Despite being a rogue, she could get access to a surprising amount of information from the independent heroes and vigilantes. Even if she didn't fight, she wasn't a part of the gangs or the PRT, and that was all the independents needed to know. Being an independent cape wasn't easy.

To some extent, even if they didn't all get along, they relied on each other. Revenant himself had told her the damage left in Bushido's wake. The socalled 'zombie cape' had appeared almost disturbed, which was telling enough to anyone that knew of him.

He was perhaps Brockton Bay's most notorious vigilante for more than one reason. Mostly violent ones. For him to be disgusted, even vaguely by another's actions... Whenever Bushido flexed his powers, he'd make sure his victims felt the pain of his steam. The samurai cape seemed to relish in it. Leaving large, lasting injuries. Serious burns that disfigured and marred anyone unlucky enough to cross his path or catch the ABB's attention.

Sabah looked down at her hands and wasn't surprised to see them shaking. There was a reason she was a rogue, and it wasn't only to pursue fashion. It wasn't like she didn't want to help people. But the thought of fighting caused her to freeze. She took some small measure of pride that she was able to step up against the Empire when her back was against the wall, even if she ultimately hadn't had to do much. But the thought of willingly going into battle left her paralyzed. Some people had a natural aptitude for battle, she just wasn't one of those people.

She looked over to Taylor to see what they should do and found the girl already affixing her mask to her face and straightening her jacket. Eyes focused determinedly toward the steam. There was no mistaking what her intentions were.

Not for the first, time Sabah found herself admiring her younger friend. She was just doing her best to force herself to move, and Taylor was already planning for the upcoming fight. The taller girl thought little of throwing herself into the fray if she thought she could help.

It was a trait that Sabah both deeply admired and greatly worried about. Learning that Taylor also apparently had a tendency to play down her injuries. Or in the case of the warehouse fight, not mention them entirely didn't exactly help to ease her concern.

Sabah had found herself growing attached to the other girl surprisingly quickly. And not just because the strange girl with the even stranger powers had saved her. Taylor was genuine in a way most people weren't. She was also awkward and clearly at a loss when it came to friendship. She was painfully shy to the point of almost fearful at times when they interacted with each other. Sabah didn't know what had happened to Taylor for her to be that way, but as a cape herself, she could guess.

Taylor wasn't the best at expressing herself. But that didn't mean she didn't in her own way. Sabah was pretty sure she'd seen a toad or two shadowing her out of the corner of her eye when she was out in costume. Knowing that she had people, or toads as it were, watching over had done a lot to ease the stress and worry she'd been experiencing following the attempted press gang by the Empire.

Sabah sighed.

"You're going."

It wasn't a question. Worry for her friend weighed down on the fabric manipulator.

Taylor simply nodded in response. She looked at the doll girl questioningly.

Sabah grimaced behind her mask at the unspoken question. She wanted to help her friend. Sabah had never thought badly of herself for freezing at the thought of fighting before. As far as she was concerned if more capes were a little more hesitant to fight the world would be a better place. Now, though, she hated herself a little bit. If she went with Taylor to try and help with whatever was going on she would be almost useless, or worse a handicap.

"I –," she stopped, not wanting to say the words.

Taylor looked at her in understanding.

"It's okay."

"I'm sorry."

Taylor's eyes crinkled a little as she gave a small understanding smile in response. Her eyes widened in surprise as the other girl gave her a sudden hug.

"Be careful," Sabah mumbled into the taller girl's coat.

Taylor awkwardly returned the hug. As though it had been a while since she'd been in this situation. Separating the dark haired girl raised her hood and prepared to summon.

"Relax, I've learned my lesson."

Slamming her palm into the ground. Smoke clearing to reveal the red hero on top of Gamakichi.

"Besides, I'm never alone."

With that Taylor was gone, and Jiraiya was riding out to battle.

Sabah bit her lip as she watched her friend ride off toward danger. Turning around she began making her way back toward her dorm. Pausing before she rounded the block her eyes tracked back toward the direction her friend had gone with a frown.

"You better be okay. Or else."

Turning back around, the doll girl left the empty street behind.

* * *

 **Taylor**

As they continued making their way towards the commotion Taylor slipped out her phone and called the only other number in it aside from Parian's and the PRT hotline. After a few rings, the other person picked up.

"Clock's Taxidermy, you snuff it we'll stuff it."

Taylor brought her phone in front of her face and stared at it disbelievingly. She was suddenly rethinking this call. But, she'd told Parian that she had learned her lesson, and she had. So she was going to play this one smart. And that included letting the other hero's know of the situation ahead of time.

"It's Jiraiya."

She heard fumbling on the other end at that.

"Hey, if it isn't my favorite toad girl," the clock themed hero said in surprise. "Didn't think you were gonna call me after so long."

"Sorry, I got caught up. But I've got a situation here."

"What's up?" The playful ward asked, suddenly all business.

It was a little jarring to hear him switch into seriousness so suddenly. But she was glad that he wasn't going to write her off and was thankful for it.

"Pillar of steam near the Boardwalk down by the docks."

"Bushido," Clockblocker cursed.

She heard the sound of rapid movement from the other line. She hoped that meant he was going to warn people.

"What are you planning?"

"Just going to check it out. I wanted to warn you in case it's something worse than it looks like. It already looks pretty bad to be honest," Taylor paused before continuing, "If I see someone in trouble though, I'm going in. With or without you guys."

"What? Wait no, Jirai—"

He was cut off as the independent hero hung up the phone. She needed to focus, they were nearing in on the target. Tapping Kichi's shoulder lightly three times to signal him to slow down and approach with stealth.

Hopefully, it was just the ABB showing off for new recruits and nobody was in any actual danger. But knowing her luck, that wouldn't be the case.

Finally getting her eyes on the scene she had to stop herself from uncharacteristically cursing. It was way worse than she'd thought. There were four ABB capes on the scene. Bushido, resplendent in his armor, was wreathed in his cloud of steam. Next to him were three others.

One she only recognized vaguely. Wearing a metal mask with a gas mask filter and wires going over her shoulders. Bakuda, their newest cape and some sort of explosives tinker. She couldn't recall much aside from that but just the thought of a tinker specializing in explosives was enough to make her wish she was on the opposite coast.

The other, she recognized immediately. Clad in a loose flowing kimono that clashed riotously with her combat boots was The Painted Lady. She went by Hisako as well, no one knew her last name. She wore one arm free of her kimono sleeve, and completely eschewed a mask. The ABB cape was beautiful. Long black hair that hung straight and was tied up in an elaborate bun. Red lips and large almond shaped eyes. She could have been a model if she wasn't a gang member. The only thing that marred her beauty was the cold expression on her face, devoid of anything aside from maybe boredom.

Taylor remembered having an interest in her because she was one of the few capes aside from New Wave to not have a secret identity. Though, it wouldn't be easy to keep a secret identity with her namesake.

Taylor watched as a rippling two-dimensional Chinese dragon twined itself sinuously up her arm and over her neck. A small rat scurried across the flesh of her calf and a serpent slithered across the flesh of her face before disappearing to explore her back. The tattooed animals that roamed freely on her flesh were the source of both her cape name and her power.

The PRT rated her as a mid-level master and a low-level thinker. Whatever surface she touched, she could send one of her animals through, and what would emerge would be that creature made of that material. And to give her even more versatility, the unmasked cape wasn't limited solely to solid surfaces. The PHO had reports of her fighting off Fog and Night with a gorilla made of concrete and a hawk made of fire. Her tattoos or paintings or whatever they were never stopped moving across her body as far as anyone could tell. Likely why she didn't feel a need for a mask. Her thinker rating came from the fact that she apparently had some way to communicate with her constructs.

The final cape needed no introduction. Oni Lee was the second in command for the ABB. The black ninja clad teleporter with the red demon mask was a very well-known and very dangerous element.

Taylor exchanged a worried look with Gamakichi. This was an extremely bad situation. Bushido on his own would be dangerous enough. But three other capes on top of that was pushing it from dangerous to suicidal.

Unfortunately, as her eyes followed what the three ABB capes were looking at, it seemed she wouldn't have much of a choice.

Facing off against them was another cape, and they didn't look like friends. It wasn't one she was familiar with at all, so she assumed he must be somewhat new. He was wearing a grey scientist's coat that looked worse for wear and some black jeans and boots. As far as costumes went, it rated only slightly higher than her own disastrous first attempt before Parian had helped her.

What was more interesting though was the high-tech gear he seemed to be wearing. What looked like blue tinted snowboarding goggles from 100 years in the future was strapped across his face in place of a mask. She was sure they were used for more than just to block out the sun and hide his identity going by the rest of his gear. His more impressive looking piece of technology was the futuristic looking backpack he wore along with a pair of gauntlets for lack of a better term that went up to his elbows. They seemed to be meant to work together in some way because the gauntlets were connected to the backpack by metal tubing.

Before she could try and puzzle out what they were used for, Bushido decided to make his move. Stepping toward the scientist themed cape, he spoke.

Taylor winced at the sound of his voice. What did he do, gargle straight razors for breakfast?

"You have embarrassed me before Lung with your escape on our last encounter."

The steam around the red armored cape seemed to get denser with his anger.

"You will not escape this time."

Right, they clearly weren't friends.

Quickly bringing out her phone once more and texting an update to Clockblocker she tried to come up with a plan. Taylor swore under her breath as Bushido approached the outnumbered cape, apparently not willing to give her time to plan.

Quickly she motioned for Kichi to circle around and get in position as she began yet another summoning. Moving back completely around the corner of the building she'd been hiding behind in an attempt to not alert the ABB capes to her presence with the smoke, Taylor slammed her hand into the ground.

Before her were three identical toads standing at an even 5 feet. They were triplets and identical in every way aside from the numbers one, two, and three emblazoned on their respective torsos. Their names were Ichi, Ni, and San, and they were going to help her save that cape.

Quickly she explained what she needed them to do. Once she got their determined nods in understanding they made their move. Ichi jumped upwards to the roof of the building they were hiding on while San hopped off as well. Ni for his part remained where he was giving a thumbs up to his summoner.

Nodding back in acknowledgment, Taylor stepped out from around the building. She made no effort to muffle her footsteps as she approached the ABB capes.

Bushido stopped his approach toward the unknown tinker as he and his allies turned to face the source of the noise, narrowing at the sight of the red clad hero. And so they were completely caught off guard when Ichi jumped off the roof, his tongue lashing out at great speeds and wrapping around the unknown tinker's torso.

"What the fu-!"

The tinker's words were swallowed literally as he was pulled into the toad's mouth. Whirling around to see his prey gone. In his place was a large toad with the number 1 emblazoned on his chest giving him the middle finger. Before the samurai cape could fully process what was going on, the toad leaped away and began his retreat.

He was a block away before the ABB capes could compose themselves enough to act in response. Oni Lee then crumpled into ash, already on his way after the toad. The teleporting assassin was the only one with a hope to catch him.

Bushido turned back toward the independent hero after a long moment of coming to terms with what had just happened. His cloak of steam boiled outward with his emotions.

"You will die for this, Young Thunder."

A scraping noise as she drew her tanto was his only response.

* * *

AN: Alrighty, another update. We got us a peek of how Parian sees Taylor as well as an inisght into her own character. Then we have the set up for a throwdown with the ABB.

To preemptively answer, "Why so many ABB capes for just one guy?" He's a tinker, and as such extremely valuable. They can potentially give normal humans the ability to throw down with capes.

Anyways, you know the drill, let me know what you think yea? Thanks for reading lads and lassess.


	17. Growth 3-7

Growth 3.7

 **Clockblocker**

He stared at the phone after Jiraiya hung up on him.

Was she serious?

"Hey Dennis, what was that? Sounded intense."

Breaking out of his shock at the sound of Carlos' voice, Dennis cursed as he realized he was just standing there.

"Trouble," was his hurried answer to the Ward's leader as he rushed out of the room dedicated to the Brockton Wards. Grabbing one of the spare masks on the way out he hurried to find Miss Militia. She was infinitely easier to work with and tended to take things the Wards said with more seriousness than Armsmaster.

"Come on," the distressed teen hero groaned when he didn't get a response.

He was interrupted from further venting when his phone vibrated in his hand. Opening the messages, a sickly dread curdled in his stomach.

 **To: Clockblocker**

 **From: Jiraiya**

 **Message: 4 ABB capes. Bushido, Oni, Lady, and a possible tinker. Going after a new cape, possibly tinker. Can't leave him, I'm going in.**

"Fuck!"

Running again, this time, toward the command center he did his best not to think of the tall skinny girl he'd met going against 4 ABB capes.

He didn't know her, not really. This was the first time that she'd used his number since he gave it to her. But he still found himself feeling somewhat responsible for her. He wasn't sure if it was because he was one the ones that made first contact with the toad girl. Maybe the way that she'd seemed so awkward, more comfortable in a knife fight than talking with him and Vista after the fight. It didn't matter really. All that mattered was that he got her some backup as soon as possible.

He burst into the command center and found to his surprise that it was a flurry of activity.

Did they already know about what Jiraiya had told him?

Flagging down one of the staff he quickly reported what Jiraiya had told him. Doing his best to remain calm and keep his voice level as he spoke to the harried staff member.

"Well, that would certainly explain this mess." Quickly he elaborated at the uncomprehending look that Dennis shot him. "Lung attacked an E88 site. By the time Kaiser got capes on the scene it was already too late. Lung had already started to grow."

Dennis stared at the agent wide-eyed as what the man said sunk in. A ramped up Lung was a recurring appearance on his Top 3 things he never wanted to see in his life ever. Usually right before or after an endbringer.

"We can't send backup now. Lung must have done this to cause a distraction for his members and it worked. It's an all-out war between Lung and most of the Empire. All the Protectorate members are already deployed trying to keep it contained."

He didn't remember the walk back to the Ward's area. He barely heard the concern from his fellow wards as he walked past them into the bathroom.

Pulling off the mask, he stared at the person in the reflection. He didn't recognize that person as a hero.

Dennis hadn't thought being a Ward would be like this. Sure, the money was nice. He definitely wouldn't have to worry about paying for college when he graduated. And aside from Sophia, he really liked all of the other junior heroes. They were all pretty close for the most part. But never had he thought being a hero would make him feel so powerless.

Dennis wasn't stupid. He knew that for the most part a lot of the rules and the regulations put in place made sense. He wasn't trying to advocate turning the Bay into a wild west with capes.

But someone was in trouble. No he corrected himself, not just someone. A fellow hero was in trouble and needed help. And to Dennis, sometimes that should just be enough. He hadn't even tried asking for permission to go help her himself. He knew better than that. No chance in hell would they sign off on that, especially when all of the protectorate members were busy in a 3-way brawl with the Nazi's and a rage-dragon.

The only thing that stopped him from going on his own was that he knew he never would've made it in time to help. He had always been extremely proud of his power. It was strong and versatile in a way that many others weren't. The geeks in power testing had called it inviolable.

For the first time that he could remember, Dennis would have willingly traded his time powers for a mover ability. What use was his amazing power if he couldn't even use it to help people in trouble?

A fog of frustration and anger rose through him, coursing through his veins. He had felt this before, watching his father slowly waste away with leukemia. Unable to do anything but watch. The red head gave a bitter chuckle at the thought. He couldn't even stand by and watch now.

Not for the first time Dennis found himself questioning why he was still a Ward.

A large hand settled on his shoulder and Dennis jumped in surprise.

"Shit! Carlos, don't sneak up on me," he said with a laugh as he turned to face his captain.

"What's wrong Clock."

Dennis shot an irritated look at his captain as the taller hero stared him down calmly. Carlos looked as though he'd be perfectly comfortable standing there and waiting for a response for hours.

Looking at the heavily muscled teen, Dennis snorted self-deprecatingly. It was probably why Carlos was the one he was closest with. The Hispanic hero didn't let him deflect with sarcasm or humor. He was like his power. Unstoppable, he'd wait until Dennis eventually ran out of steam or got frustrated enough and finally said what was on his mind.

Giving in to the inevitable, Dennis explained the situation to his friend.

"And now she's alone with an unknown cape against every single ABB cape aside from Lung. And I'm here, sitting in a bathroom and bitching about the situation to my best friend. Because apparently, even though I'm a hero, this is the best I can do for her."

Carlos had been listening as Dennis told the story stoically. When the time stopper finished he sighed and rubbed his face.

"If you could fly, you'd be on your way already."

It was said as a statement rather than a question. There was no doubt in the mind of the Ward's leader that what he said was true.

Sighing resignedly and cracking his neck he spoke, "Alright then. Where did you say she was again?"

"Are you serious?"

Dennis couldn't keep the shock from his voice. Carlos was aside from maybe Gallant, by far the most by the book member of the Wards. And as the acting captain, he had by far the most to lose by something like this.

"Not a lot of time Clock," the larger hero hero replied. Looking seriously at his friend he continued, "It's like you say. We are heroes, sometimes that's reason enough to act.

And sometimes Dennis thought as he told Carlos where to go, he was reminded why he stuck around.

Watching as his captain nodded at the information and walked off with a purposeful stride, Dennis reached for his phone and typed out a message.

 **From: Clockblocker**

 **To: Jiraiya**

 **Message: Hlp is on the way. U better be ok.**

* * *

 **Taylor**

Despite the extremely dangerous situation she was in, Taylor couldn't help feeling a bit of smugness as she watched Oni Lee chase off after the fleeing Ichi. For all the good that it would do him.

Ichi, Ni, and San were, rather ironically for identical triplets, some of her most unique toads. In a fight, they weren't anything exceptional.

They didn't share the versatility or the myriad of offensive capabilities that Gamakichi brought to bear. In terms of raw power and defense, Gama had them beat by a landslide. And when it came to speed and endurance, Kosuke could run circles around the three with his eyes closed.

However, they did share an extremely unique ability that lent to them gaining the nickname the 'Courier Brothers.' They were known as the most reliable delivery service available. No matter how sensitive the package, they had a 100% success rate.

The three brothers had access to a unique skill that had been described to her as a Space-Time technique. Inside their stomach, the brothers held a shared dimension. She didn't know how they managed it, but they did. And they could send whatever was in that dimension between each other at will.

Oni Lee was playing a shell game. Trying to find the Red Lady in Three-card Monte. Only, the ABB assassin didn't even know he was in the game, let alone what the rules were.

Ichi was leading the teleporter on a wild chase. Meanwhile, if all was going according to plan, the cape that they had rescued should be with Ni where they'd been hiding getting the situation explained to him.

With one villain temporarily out of the picture, Taylor was still left staring down 3 ABB capes. She hoped Ni explained quickly, and that the cape would be able to help. Because this still wasn't even close to a favorable situation.

Luckily, she had a few more tricks up her sleeve.

She felt her phone buzz in her coat pocket but ignored it. There was no time to check it, whatever Clockblocker said in reply would have to wait. She just hoped it was good news.

As the ABB tinker started threatening her in a truly grating voice wielding what looked to be a grenade launcher she sent the go ahead through her bond with Kichi. Moments later she was awarded a nearly imperceptible bullet of wind crashed violently into the tinker cape right as the Asian woman was aiming towards the hero.

The impact of the bullet momentarily dispersed the growing cloud of steam from Bushido. The tinker was hit full force and sent flying landing head first with a sickening crack.

Taylor let out a slow breath in relief, she didn't know what the tinker had been intending to shoot her with, but it didn't take a genius to know it wouldn't have been good. Looking as the hulking samurai cape rushed to check on the prone form of the tinker she suppressed a wince at the violent attack from Kichi.

She was careful not to mar the confident image she was projecting to the enemy capes. That was the last of her tricks, right now her only advantage was looking like she wasn't worried at all about being outnumbered by powerful and diverse capes. It wasn't true at all of course, but it might cause the villains to hesitate.

"Hisako, take her out."

The growling voice of Bushido brought her focus back to the more immediate situation.

The Painted Lady for her part still looked bored and seemed content to ignore the samurai-themed cape.

Taylor watched in confusion as Bushido's steam condensed with his rage at being ignored before he snarled something that sounded threateningly at his supposed ally in Japanese.

Whatever he said caused the tattooed cape to react for the first time since Taylor had arrived. Naked hatred flashed in her gaze as she tensed, glaring venomously at the steam cape. She looked more likely to attack Bushido in that instance than Taylor. Bushido for his part was apparently not worried at all, already bending down to check on the tinker.

Like a mask, the emotion disappeared and The Painted Lady resumed her previous blank affect. Taylor found herself nervous under shorter woman's stare. It wasn't natural to flip to such an extreme emotion and then back to nothing. Taylor wasn't sure what it was, but she was suddenly sure that there was something very wrong with this woman.

Reaching into the sleeve of her kimono the ABB cape pulled out a lighter and flicked it on. Staring evenly at the hero across from her the villain didn't flinch as she put two fingers in the flame. Sending a frantic impulse through her bond to Gamakichi, Taylor watched as the dragon tattoo started flowing from the Lady's arm and emerged from the flame. Her eyes narrowed as a large sinuous dragon made of flame, at least 15 feet in length, coiled around the villainous cape before launching itself towards her with a silent roar.

Once again Kichi came in with the save as he launched into view from his hiding place peppering the creature with water bullets.

"I got this, go for the human!"

The fire dragon momentarily dispersed from the attack before reforming a little smaller than before going for the summoner again only to be interrupted once more by the toad.

Leaving her partner to it, Taylor rushed toward the other cape in an attempt to not let her use another animal. Hisako appeared unfazed by her dragon's failure and reached once more into her sleeve, this time emerging with a small knife.

Once more a tattoo flowed down the ABB master's arm. Taylor's eyes went wide as the small knife elongated and grew a serpent's head. The formerly small knife was now more like a bladed whip with fangs. Gasping in surprise Taylor abandoned her attack and rolled beneath Hisako's strike.

Did she even swing the blade? Or did the snake attack on its own?

Hisako didn't waste her opening and placed a palm flat on the ground. Once more there was the now familiar sight of her tattoo shifting down her arm. What emerged from the ground was the most intimidating construct yet.

A concrete gorilla rose from the street and kept on rising. It was truly massive. At least 15 feet tall.

Distantly as Taylor stared at the gigantic creature she wondered if natural gorillas also had fangs.

It was not something that Taylor could hope to hurt on her own. Sheathing her blade she made to start a summoning as the stone animal lumbered towards her.

Both the summoner and the construct were interrupted by a green ball. Flying toward the gorilla in a lazy arc it impacted with the giant creature's ankle and exploded into a sticky mass of goo, halting the construct in its tracks.

"Your frog explained the situation. Thanks for the assist. I'll help where I can."

"Jiraiya," she said as an introduction and a response when the cape moved into her field of vision. "And they're toads."

"Chemist," the male cape responded in kind.

Their introduction was interrupted by Bushido's growling voice.

"Ah, how fortunate."

Cracking his neck, the massive crimson armored cape walked towards them, moving away from the downed tinker.

"I don't know how you're here worm, but it is good that you are both here together. It will make it easier to punish you both for your transgressions."

Taylor did her best to ignore the cape and tried to formulate a plan with her new ally.

"What can you do?" She asked, careful not to take her attention away from Bushido. The Painted Lady seemed content to wait and watch as her gorilla pulled itself free from whatever Chemist had down to it.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Chemist raise one his gauntlets with the palm up. From this close, she could see what looked like a computer screen embedded in the wrist of his armored glove. A port opened in the palm deploying another ball, blue this time.

Clenching the ball in his fist the male cape said, "Chemical tinker" in answer to her question. He hesitated, seemingly searching for a way to describe it, "I'm versatile," the tinker said finally.

A little vague, but it would have to do. She doubted that she would be able to understand a more technical response anyways.

A thud to her right announced the arrival of Gamakichi having apparently dealt with the dragon construct. Taylor found herself relieved at the presence of a familiar ally whose capabilities she both knew and trusted in.

Chemist, to his credit, only jumped a little at the toad's sudden appearance. She supposed just seeing Kichi wasn't so hard to deal with after already being swallowed whole by a toad.

"A talker huh," was the toad's observation as he watched Bushido threaten them.

"He's building his steam."

Taylor looked askance at the chemical tinker at the answer to her partner's observation.

"This is the third time I've run into him. He can control the steam, but he can't create it. That's what that pack on his back is for, but it isn't instantaneous. He needs time if he wants to get more steam. Has a habit of keeping a dense cloud around himself for protection."

She turned a considering gaze to the steam cape. That would be his main weakness then. However, she frowned as she took in the way the brute was mostly shrouded in the steam. Getting close enough to exploit that would be dangerous. With both his strength and the steam shroud, close quarters with Bushido seemed like a losing proposition.

The ABB capes weren't wasting the time they'd spent talking. Under Bushido's order Painted Lady made more concrete animals to accompany her gorilla. A tiger, rat, and a spider joined the gorilla. She suppressed a shudder at the sight. Rats had no business being over 4 feet long.

"Kichi, take care of the animals. We'll go for Bushido."

The toad grunted in response.

They were interrupted from further discussion by a billowing rush of steam heading towards them. Reacting quickly, Chemist launched his blue orb towards the steam as Kichi grabbed the two humans and jumped out of the way.

Taylor tucked into a smooth roll transitioning into a crouch as Kichi dropped the two capes before launching himself towards the charging animals. Chemist wasn't so lucky and ended up sprawled on the ground, unprepared for the sudden movement.

Her eyes tracked toward where they'd been and Taylor inhaled sharply. The majority of the steam had turned into a jagged mass of ice. She turned her gaze back to Chemist who was struggling back to his feet.

Versatile?

Taylor huffed at the understatement.

Tinkers are bullshit.

She was interrupted from further cursing the unfairness by Bushido bull rushing towards them at impressive speeds augmented by his brute strength. Hastily she shoved Chemist out of the way and before diving out of the way herself. She was able to dodge the wild blow from the armored cape but couldn't escape one of the many tendrils of boiling steam that he'd sent out in his wake.

She bit back a scream as the steam scalded her hand. The only thing that saved her from further harm was the emergence of a light blue colored smoke screen that encompassed the area seemingly instantly. Yanking her hand to her chest she hunched over and ran away from the shaker class cape. Emerging from the smoke she ran to get a safe distance away from the ABB cape.

Glancing down at her hand she had to fight back a gag. Her fingerless glove was partially melted, peeling it off revealed a red weeping mess. She could see boils appearing already.

Taylor bit back a groan. It was the most intense physical pain she'd ever felt. She could see Kichi fighting off the Lady's horde of concrete creatures which had been bolstered by the appearance of a bird made of fire in her periphery.

She wasn't afforded any more time to think as Bushido emerged from the dissipating smoke cloud Chemist had created. His focus seemed to be solely on her as he punched out sending a column of boiling mist in her direction.

Reacting with speed, she slapped her good hand on the ground. Her summoning tattoo glowed red as it was activated, unable to form the seals in her current condition. She felt a rush of energy leave her with the summoning, far more than usual, unable to precisely control the energy without the seals. She was left momentarily light-headed from the unexpectedly large rush of energy being expelled for the summoning.

Taylor exhaled sharply in relief as the accompanying smoke indicated a successful summon. She hadn't had a reason to really experiment summoning without seals and she was extremely thankful nothing had gone wrong.

A blast of wind emerged from the shroud dispersing both the incoming steam and the remaining smoke from the summoning. Gamatatsu blinked confusedly at the red armored man in front of him.

"Did you make a new friend?" the yellow toad asked curiously as he turned to face his summoner.

Even while in the midst of regaining her composure and fighting to ignore the enormous amount of pain she was in Taylor found herself rolling her eyes.

"No," she answered the ignorant toad, teeth clenched in pain, "he's a very bad man. I need your wind."

The yellow toad blinked slowly as he took a long moment to process that.

"Will I get candy?"

Taylor nearly screamed. She was pretty tolerant of Gamatatsu and his quirks, but there was a reason that Gamakichi was her main partner. The yellow toad could be infuriating and this wasn't the time for this crap.

"Yes!" She shouted, eyes never leaving Bushido who had gotten over his surprise and was heading in their direction. "You can have all the candy you want, just get your head in the game!"

Gamatatsu's eyes widened to a comical degree at the thought of unlimited candy before flipping his expression to determination.

"Right!"

Turning back to face the oncoming cape he heaved a huge breath before shooting out another bullet of air towards the ABB cape.

The blast of wind rocketed into the cape, momentarily displacing his ever-present cloak of steam but aside from causing the behemoth to stumble in surprise, he didn't seem harmed.

Whether it was the armor or the brute rating Taylor wasn't sure. But it shook her a little. This was the first time that a human had taken a direct hit from her toads and shrugged it off. Granted Gamatatsu wasn't her strongest toad. And the wind attack wasn't full powered, especially since it was done without the hand signs. But it was worrying.

Gamatatsu seemed surprised as well going by the confused look he was shooting towards Bushido. As if the yellow toad expected the cape to realize that he should be hurt from the attack and suddenly fall over.

Glaring at the ABB cape Gamatatsu spat out another elemental attack, only this time to Taylor's horror it was water instead of wind. The orb of water smashed into the hulking cape knocking him back a few feet. However, the water also immediately turned to steam on impact with the super-heated armor that had spent the entire fight shrouded in boiling steam.

Taylor cursed, the last thing they needed was to give Bushido more ammunition.

"Stick to wind Tatsu!"

Running steps to her side and another blue orb signaled Chemist's return to the fray. Turning to her temporary ally she frowned at the sight of him breathing raggedly. Up close she was surprised to find that she was just slightly taller than the chemical user. Taylor wasn't sure how long he had been a cape, but he clearly hadn't invested into the physical aspect the way that she had. Shaking her head she dismissed the thought. It wasn't at all useful in their current situation.

"If my toad can create an opening, do you have anything that can take out his steam pack?"

Her eyes didn't leave the fight in front of her. Gamatatsu was mostly keeping his distance and peppering the advancing Bushido with wind bullets. He wasn't as capable in combat as his brother and generally preferred to keep a distance. The yellow toad didn't have the close combat skills of Gamakichi.

Frowning when she didn't get a response she turned to face her tinker ally to see him staring at her mangled hand. She couldn't see his expression behind the hi-tech goggles he wore, but judging by the grimace and the rapid breathing, he looked like he was struggling not to vomit.

"Hey! Focus. We need to take care of this as soon as possible."

Jolted by the sound of her voice the male cape raised his gaze from her hand to meet hers.

"I –," he paused and cleared his throat, trying to regain some semblance of composure. "Yea, I'll have to make it though. I haven't had a chance to pre-program all of my more usual chemicals."

He must have seen something in her confused and angry expression because he rushed to explain, voice regaining confidence upon finding himself on more familiar ground.

"My backpack holds all my chemicals, I use my computer to program which mixture I want to use. My gear is still new and a little temperamental, I haven't had a chance to program all of my usual chem-balls into the computer. So I'll have to program it in manually," he waved the screen on the arm of his left gauntlet in emphasis.

"Do it. Get to cover and get started. If we want to win this, we need to take out the source of his steam."

Chemist nodded seriously and jogged off, tapping at the computer screen on his arm as he went.

An explosion drew their attention towards Kichi's fight with The Painted Lady and her concrete minions. She grimaced at what she saw. It looked like Oni Lee was back in the fight.

Taylor knew it was naïve to think that Ichi would be able to distract Oni Lee for the entire fight, but she had hoped Bushido would be down by the time he got back.

She just had to trust that Kichi could keep them distracted enough that the teleporter wouldn't have time to attack them while they were busy with Bushido. They couldn't afford to split their focus.

A shout of pain dragged her attention back to the fight between Bushido and Gamatatsu.

"No!"

Bushido had managed a sneak attack on Gamatatsu with his steam while he was weathering the wind attacks. The yellow toad had gotten confident and hadn't managed to see the attack from the side coming in time. The armored cape used the yellow toad's pain to rush in and land crushing blow on the toad. Finally managing to get within melee range. An armored fist crashed into Tatsu and sent him flying backward with the strength only a brute could manage.

Taylor didn't waste any time and sprinted to check on her toad. Skidding to a stop she knelt down to examine the injured toad and grimaced at what she saw. An angry red burn overlaid a growing bruise from where Bushido had punched the yellow amphibian as well as burns on his arm and shoulder from the initial steam attack.

She fought hard to keep calm as her eyes started to water. None of her toads had ever been hurt before in a fight. A weak mumble from the yellow toad pierced her awareness.

"What is it Tatsu?"

"Will I still get candy?"

Taylor let out a choked laugh.

"Of course, all you can eat. I promise."

"Awesome," the yellow toad cheered tiredly before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

She stared numbly at the area where Gamatatsu had lain. Her toads had never lost before. It shook her. Taylor wasn't allowed any time to worry over her fallen ally as she felt a surge of heat from behind her. The toad hero didn't waste time looking back, she sprinted forward in an effort to stay ahead of the encroaching steam, red coat fluttering behind her. Chemist better hurry up and finish whatever he was doing.

She could hear pounding footsteps of the approaching brute reverberate behind her. A grunt and a thunderous crash interrupted the chase. Chancing a look back she stopped completely trying to understand what was going on before grinning in relief.

Floating between her and a downed Bushido was a tall, well-muscled hero around her age wearing a dark red costume. Aegis, she was so relieved about the backup which she assumed came from Clockblocker that Taylor didn't even question why the PRT had sent a ward into such a volatile situation.

Aegis was the iconic sort of hero. The figure that someone instinctively imagined when they heard the word superhero. Tall, muscular and with a handsome jaw that could be seen from what his mask didn't cover. He had that iconic image.

The leader of the Ward's experience showed as he didn't waste time asking unimportant question.

"What's the situation, and do you have a plan?"

"Checking on it now. We should have a way to stop Bushido from getting anymore steam. Can you hold him off for little bit?"

Aegis turned a considering gaze toward the ABB cape who had regained his footing and looked furious at another interruption in his fight.

"Where do you worms keep coming from?" Steam condensed around him in a shell so thick that the cape was a mere silhouette. "I'll kill you all!" With that proclamation, the steam brute charged toward the two young heroes.

"Be quick," Aegis answered her before flying to meet the boiling cape's charge, unafraid to meet him head on.

Taylor nodded in reply even though he couldn't see her and made her way as quick as possible to where Chemist had been hiding. The chemical tinker was hunched over the screen on his arm typing furiously, his head shot up tensing at the sound of her approach before relaxing.

"Ready?" She asked brusquely. There wasn't time for anything else, with Oni Lee back in play they were officially on a timer. Taylor didn't want to even think about their tinker managing to recover as well.

"Yes," the blue-goggled teen answered her with a nod, "I just finished designing the chemical."

The port on the palm of his glove opened as if to give truth to his words, displacing an orange orb into his palm.

"What will it do?"

"It will react with the water in his tank," he frowned apologetically as he continued, "I have an acid as well, but I'm not completely confident in using it on him. Normally it shouldn't affect organic matter, but it's another one that I haven't been able to pre-program yet, I don't want to risk entering it in manually and making a mistake with something so dangerous."

Taylor nodded impatiently already working on a solution. Having to get the orb in the tank wasn't ideal, but it was better than nothing. She really wished that he had perfected that acid. It would have been much easier to implement. No use worrying about what couldn't be changed. They had enough to worry about right now.

Swiping the orb out of his hand she turned to head back to the fight. She didn't want to leave Aegis on his own longer than she had too.

"I'll take care of the tank, you get ready to help Aegis take him out when the pack is gone."

"Aegis?" The scientist-themed cape asked in confusion as she made to follow.

Taylor just grunted and gestured toward Bushido in answer as she slipped the orange ball into her pocket and unsheathed her blade. She eyed the thick spine of the blade, Kichi had assured her that the knife was designed to excel in puncturing armor. Taylor had never had a reason to test it before. She really hoped the toad wasn't exaggerating.

The dark haired girl's face twisted when she realized that she would need both hands to generate enough force. She had almost forgotten about the pain with the adrenalin and the rush of events. What she was going to have to do brought it rushing back to the forefront of her consciousness with a vengeance. With a groan of pain Taylor forced her tortured hand around the hilt of her blade. Gasping sharply trying to ride out the pain she held the blade in a two-handed grip and looked to where she had left Aegis and Bushido.

Awe shoved through the haze of pain.

She had never seen two brutes fight before. It was amazing and terrifying at once. Aegis stood in the cloud of steam, unbothered by the heat as he traded vicious blows with Bushido. The samurai's once pristine armor was scraped and dented from his fight with Gamatatsu and Aegis. The swung wild blows at each other rarely bothering to block the other, Bushido relying on his armor and Aegis on his natural durability.

Shaking off the sight with some difficulty, she shouted to the ward, "I need him out of the steam!"

Aegis continued fighting and Taylor had wandered whether the Ward had heard her or not. As she was about to try again Aegis suddenly crouched below a wild haymaker and threw himself bodily at Bushido. The surprise gut check launched both of the brutes into the air, and thanks to Aegis' ability to fly they kept on going until they burst from the steam. Bushido was apparently too occupied to control the steam to come after him in the midst of his fight but managed to land a clubbing hammer blow onto the junior hero's back and sent the two capes crashing down to the ground.

Seizing her chance, Taylor barreled toward the distracted cape, charging in a full sprint. The downed Bushido managed to get a hold on Aegis and launched the cape from him, sending the Hispanic hero crashing to the ground 10 feet away.

As the armored cape fought to unsteadily rise to his feet, Taylor rammed into him blade first. To her intense relief, her blade punched through metal pack mounted onto the back of the Asian cape's armor. Stifling a scream at the pain the attack caused her hand she ripped her blade free, pulled out the orb with her good hand and shoved it into the hole she had created.

Bushido swung blindly and landed a glancing blow just as the orb disappeared within the metal pack. The attack barely clipped her but sent her skidding along the ground. Through the pain, Taylor found it in herself to once again be immensely grateful for her armored coat. She had to get Parian something nice.

What did the doll girl even like besides fashion?

A shout mixed with rage and panic stalled her addled thoughts.

Bushido was frantically shedding his steam pack. The entire thing was rusting at an insane pace. Holes appeared in the heavy contraption as the rust spread from the pack. Bushido managed to release the pack from his armor but not before the rust had spread and ruined the armor on his back and shoulders.

Taylor stared at the impressive results from the insignificant looking orb that Chemist had handed her.

Tinkers.

Shaking off the unfairness of the world and their powers she slowly and painfully got up to her feet again. Taylor didn't think that she could last much longer. Thankfully, her temporary allies seized the opening she'd made.

Chemist launched two blue spheres at the remaining steam before Bushido could recover enough to assume control, turning the dangerous clouds of heated vapor into two more masses of ice.

Bushido wasn't given a chance to worry about his lack of steam as Aegis came flying back at him smashing into him with a double fisted punch sending him skidding across the ground. The rusted armor on his back flaked away when it came in contact with the cement. Aegis didn't let up, flying after the downed cape he scooped up the heavy rusted steam backpack and smashed it viciously into Bushido's armored head. With a crash, Bushido fell for the final time.

Taylor stared at the brutal display. It wasn't something that she would have expected from a ward. Taylor supposed the rules were different in a fight between two brutes. It seemed a bit of anticlimactic end to such a long and dangerous fight. She winced as she made her way over to the two heroes, though thankfully aside from her hand she didn't seem to have anything worse than bumps and bruises.

Kichi met her as she joined Chemist and Aegis standing over the downed brute, his blade bare. The toad summoner frowned as she saw a light burn on the toad's arm and some bruises peppering his body.

"You little shits! You think you're gonna get away with this? Attacking me from behind. Step away from him and I'll make your death only extremely painful." A familiar, grating voice spoke, sounding nearly hysterical with rage.

The three heroes turned to face the remaining ABB capes. The tinker was back up, a cut on her head bleeding into her mask. She sounded murderous, almost unstable to Taylor. Oni Lee was eyeing them with a knife in each hand while Hisako stood apart from the two, her concrete rat the only one of her animals remaining by her side.

Taylor frowned as the tinker ranted, her threats getting increasingly violent as time went on.

"Got a plan for this?"

Taylor glanced at Aegis who had spoken out of the corner of her eye, not willing to take her eyes off a teleporter.

"One," she answered slowly, a plan formulating as she spoke. There was no reason to keep going, she was injured and Chemist looked exhausted. The only one of them that looked fresh was Aegis, and Taylor wasn't even sure he could get tired.

"Chemist, do you have another of those smoke bombs?"

A colorful orb plopped into the palm of his hand in answer.

"Good, use it. And Aegis," she warned, sending an impulse through the bond she shared with her toads, "don't fight it."

The taller ward wasn't given a chance to question her. Chemist had reacted immediately and dropped his orb. A dense shroud of light blue smoke obscured whatever reaction the ABB capes had to their sudden action. The only clue was the psychotic tinker cutting off in mid-rant. Taylor didn't have time to give it any further consideration.

Kichi grabbed Bushido and disappeared in a cloud of smoke as Ni landed behind them, the warmth of their summoning bond her only clue to his silent approach. Then, she was swallowed whole by the toad and the world disappeared.

* * *

AN: Okay, we got some Clockblocker. Get to see the other end of the conversation from the previous section and a little about his struggles as a ward. Chemist/Greg got some action and we get to see his new gear. Taylor has a plan! And it works for the most part, all in all a much better showing. Also, toads aren't invincible free-win cards. They can, unfortunately, be injured and defeated.


	18. Interlude 3-a: Aftermath - Emily Piggot

Interlude 3.a: Aftermath

 **Emily Piggot – Debrief (1 Day After the Fight)**

Emily Piggot had to force herself not to sigh in relief as she lowered herself into the chair. They were all exhausted, and her condition was taking its toll on her. But it wouldn't do anyone any good to show weakness.

Some of the gathered heroes weren't so composed. They looked exhausted she thought eyeing them critically. She snorted to herself. They better get used to it. There was no going back to the uneasy truce between the gangs after the mess last night.

None of them were injured, though that was only thanks to Panacea. As much as she hated owing New Wave anything she was glad when the adult members had shown up midway through the fight last night. The reinforcements were badly needed as Lung got more and more out of control as he fought the Empire, growing in size to match the giant twins. She caught Dauntless rubbing his arm absentmindedly out of the corner of her eye.

She could admit to herself that she was glad that they had offered Panacea's help as well. Yesterday that arm he was rubbing had been broken in three places and severely burned. That wasn't even the least of the injuries. They couldn't afford to have anyone out of action with what was to come.

It still didn't mean she had to like owing New Wave any favors. As far as she was concerned they were a failed experiment at best and dangerous at worst.

Uncomfortable shifting from the Wards caught her attention. Emily narrowed her eyes. Yes, then there was that to deal with as well.

"Well," the single word was all it took to cut off any of the remaining talking, "let's get this started. Armsmaster, summarize the battle with Lung and the Empire and possible repercussions."

The armored hero sat rigidly in his seat and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Lung attacked what we now know to be an E88 weapons stash. At the time it was only occupied by unpowered thugs, they called for reinforcements before unwisely deciding to attack. They did not survive the attempt," the tinker stated without any inflection to his voice.

Not all of the heroes were as stoic. Velocity grimaced visibly and various other shifted uncomfortably. There was an audible gasp from Kid Win and various degrees of shock and horror from the rest of the wards. Emily frowned when she saw Shadow Stalker scoff. She wasn't going to lose any sleep over Nazis, but she had the feeling that Sophia might have reacted the same way had it been civilians in that building. That girl could become a problem. The PRT chief put the notion to the back of her mind as Armsmaster continued his debrief.

"By the time the Empire realized what they were dealing with it was too late. Lung had a chance to escalate. When we arrived on the scene Lung was already over 10 feet and fighting against Fenja, Menja, Hookwolf, Krieg, Victor, Othala, and Rune. Kaiser," Armsmaster finally let an emotion enter his voice, his distaste at the thought of the Nazi leader obvious, "was nowhere to be seen."

"I made the call to try and contain the fight and evacuate the civilians." The director's gaze tracked toward Miss Militia who'd spoken. The gun hero didn't flinch under the stern gaze of her superior. "I felt that they were of higher priority."

She had to contain an eye roll as Armsmaster shifted when his second in command spoke. Reading between the lines it was obvious what happened. Armsmaster was a glory hound through and through, no doubt he saw the battle as a rare chance to deal a decisive blow against the two strongest gangs in the city.

Miss Militia had obviously felt different and no doubt volunteered to express that during the debrief in case the action was met with any backlash.

"It was the right call."

Emily didn't even bother trying to stop from rolling her eyes as Armsmaster's head whipped to her direction. Privately she wondered how such an intelligent man could be so stupid when it came to the bigger picture.

"Entering recklessly into a fight against that any capes without a plan is reckless to an extreme. If we had known about this ahead of time and had something prepared we could have acted. The fact that Lung was there and already deep into his power makes an already volatile situation 10 times worse. Not to mention," she continued overriding any protest from the armored hero, "if the Protectorate charged into the middle of the largest cape fight this city has seen since the days of Marquis and The Allfather instead of protecting the civilians… The political backlash would be extreme. It was the right call." Her voice was definitive and Armsmaster nodded unhappily as the subject was closed.

Miss Militia continued before the silence could descend into awkwardness.

"Thankfully there were no casualties. The property damage seems to have been limited to Empire territory for the most part as well. There were, however, a number of injuries. On our end some of them were… severe. Thankfully Panacea offered to help with that. As for the civilians, the more critical cases were relocated to the hospital. Panacea was tapped to help them as well."

The director hummed to herself and drummed her fingers on the table top as she thought. As things went, it wasn't the worst it could have been. A casualty from either the civilians or the heroes would have been catastrophic. They should be able to spin this in a mostly positive light. Emphasize the heroes throwing themselves into danger to protect the civilians and remind the city of why they were necessary.

"How did the fight end?"

This was mostly repetition, she had heard their verbal reports last night and would be getting there written ones later. But it was important to make sure that everyone was on the same page, and this was all likely news to the wards as well.

Armsmaster somehow managed to sit straighter in his seat as he answered, a note pride echoing through his voice.

"I have been developing a tranquilizer to specifically combat Lung's regeneration." A frown was visible on his face as he continued, "it wasn't designed to be used on Lung when he had already had a chance to build up. But it seemed to have some effect regardless. He stopped growing after injection and seemed slower. Eventually it must have had an effect on him because he made his retreat. In the interest of containing the damage we let him go and focused on the empire."

Piggot grunted at that. It was good they had something that could perhaps work on Lung. He had been a thorn in their side ever since the disastrous fight when he had first arrived in the city and fought the entire protectorate to a standstill.

"It's going to be war," Miss Militia said grimly at the conclusion of Armsmaster's recounting. "The Empire lost two capes and got attacked by Lung, they won't let that slide."

"Please tell me," Piggot spoke slowly, "that we managed something positive from this mess aside from damage control."

"Yes," replied Armsmaster promptly, "we captured Othala, and then Victor as well when he attempted to rescue her. That prompted the Empire to retreat as well, likely to report to Kaiser. The decision was made to allow their retreat to deal with the fire, properly restrain the captured villains, and protect the civilians." The frown on the tinker's face showed how distasteful he found letting the Nazi gang retreat freely.

"That's something I suppose, and with the capture of Bushido yesterday we've managed to avoid a disaster and deal a significant blow to both of the gangs."

The protectorate heroes in the room exchanged startled glances at that information. For that matter, most of the Wards looked confused and interested as well, which at least helped confirm to Piggot that Aegis and Clockblocker were being truthful when they said they were the only ones involved in the unauthorized venture against the ABB.

It was Miss Militia that broached the subject. "I think we are all curious as to what you mean ma'am. How was Bushido captured?"

Piggot stared pointedly at the two Wards responsible in response. Aegis was sitting rigidly in his chair, looking resigned to his fate but unrepentant. Aegis' lower face still showed signs of the burns he received from the fight with Bushido. The Ward was wearing one of the spare masks along with civilian clothes that included a hoodie to conceal the sickening burns he was suffering. His costume was still under repair from the unsanctioned fight, they'd had to peel it off of his body.

Piggot had seen some truly disquieting things during her time as an agent. Not since the Nilbog event had she seen something quite as disgusting as the burns that the young hero received, that he neither felt it nor was hampered by the damage made it almost worse. Humans should not be able to do that. The hoodie couldn't conceal the angry red scarring covering the lower half of his face that hadn't been covered by his helmet. Piggot made a mental note to see if Panacea would be willing to heal him simply so others would not have to endure looking at him.

Clockblocker for his part had his arms crossed defensively as he leaned back on his chair. What little could be told from his body language read of defiance.

"Clockblocker, what did you do?" Miss Militia asked, easily picking out the likely culprit. To her credit, the patriotic hero sounded more worried for the junior heroes than angry. The same could not be said of Armsmaster going by the harsh frown on his face.

Aegis made to speak but stopped at a gesture from the director.

"Clockblocker, explain please so that everyone is caught up."

The clock costumed hero looked startled before settling down and spoke. Sounding a little nervous but mostly determined the time stopper

"I got a message from Jiraiya yesterday. I gave her my number after Vista and I encountered her when the Empire tried to make a move on Parian," he added for the benefit of a few of the Protectorate heroes that hadn't been aware. "She told me the ABB was making a move on a new tinker. All of the ABB capes were on the scene."

The protectorate heroes exchanged looks as they digested that information.

"That might explain Lung's sudden move on the E88," Armsmaster speculated. "We theorized that the attack was in response to the increased aggression that the E88 has been showing since his gang started acquiring more capes. But a tinker is an incredibly valuable resource, the move could have been made as a distraction to keep us occupied while his subordinates attempted to take this tinker." Turning to Clockblocker the armored hero spoke, "do we know anything about this cape?"

Aegis took it upon himself to answer for the two of them. Piggot wasn't too surprised, the Ward hero was protective of the others. That protectiveness had only grown when he'd assumed leadership of the Wards after Triumph had graduated the program. Not that it would save either of them from punishment for their insubordination.

"He went by the name of Chemist, and I don't think that they were looking to recruit him, he is Caucasian, and they seemed more focused on taking him out than anything," the Ward said in answer to Armsmaster.

The halberd wielding hero hummed in thought, "Perhaps then they were trying to remove him before another gang could acquire him. The Empire getting their hands on a competent tinker could give them a major power boost."

"I think his name is pretty indicative of his power. He had these orbs that created different effects that he created with this backpack thing, they might have been the result of chemicals," Aegis offered though he didn't sound certain.

Armsmaster looked interested at the mention of new tinker tech and made to speak again but was interrupted by a hand on his arm from Miss Militia.

"I'm sure that Aegis will answer any questions you have about the devices he saw, but I'm more interested in what he was doing there in the first place," she spoke eyes narrowed with laser focus at the Ward captain, in particular, the rather spectacular burns on the lower half of his face.

"Well, originally Jiraiya said she was just going to check it out, but when she saw what was happening she made the decision to intervene."

There was a round of murmurs and expressions ranging from impressed to disbelieving, to condemning from the other heroes at that.

"Wait," Assault interjected incredulously, "she just jumped into a fight with four capes? Is she even alive?"

"Yes she's alive," Clockblocker snapped at him as Battery delivered her own brand of justice against insensitivity with a slap upside the head to her partner.

"Anyways," the time stopper continued irately, "I tried to get help but that's when I found about the Lung situation. Aegis found me afterward, and then I convin—,"

Clockblocker was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder courtesy of Aegis.

"Once I learned of the situation, I made the call to go against protocol and aid Jiraiya." Aegis' voice was steady as he admitted what he'd done.

Again the heroes had a range of different reactions to that news. Miss Militia looked concerned as Armsmaster and Battery looked disproving. Dauntless looked uncomfortable, as though he'd rather be anywhere else. Velocity didn't have any reaction in particular.

Assault, Piggot noticed with irritation, looked proud and was slipping a hidden thumbs up to the two Wards. She made a mental note to reprimand him later. And to mention it to Battery as well once that inevitably failed to have an effect on the irritating striker.

"When I got to the scene Jiraiya had already taken out Bakuda. I don't know how that happened though. The orange toad that she has been seen with in all of her outings so far was battling The Painted Lady, her constructs, as well as Oni Lee."

Armsmaster leaned forward interestedly, "her construct was able to fight them all simultaneously?"

Aegis nodded, "I didn't get a good look at the fight later on but I saw him using water and wind attacks. As well as speed and jumps that could be considered in a mover category. He did something to his blade that let him cut through the concrete animals as well. I don't know how it did that though."

"His name is Gamakichi," Miss Militia interjected, "we believe that he's her go to summon. He's very protective of her."

"Powerful too apparently," Assault mused.

"Summon?" Vista asked curiously. Some of the heroes looked startled, that was the first time the Wards aside from Clockblocker and Aegis had spoken during the entire debriefing.

"Yes," Miss Militia nodded. "That's how she described it anyway when I met her after her attack on the ABB stash house. Her toads are intelligent but she doesn't grow them. She said that she has to expend some sort of internal energy to call them to her and maintain their presence."

Piggot couldn't stop the mixture of disgust and fear that had tainted her since Nilbog that arose inside her at hearing of a master class cape with the ability to control intelligent creatures. If the girl could be trusted to have given an accurate description of her abilities, then it wasn't the same as the likes of that creature or Blasto, but it struck too close for her to be comfortable with.

"I can confirm the latter part anyway," Aegis said grimly. "When I got there a yellow toad was battling Bushido. It seemed to rely mostly on keep away and spherical blasts of wind, but Bushido got the drop on it and injured it pretty severely." He grimaced as he continued, "Jiraiya did not react well. I don't know if she's ever seen her creatures injured before. But it disappeared after it sustained heavy injuries."

"Continue with the fight," Piggot ordered even as she noted a potential weakness of the independent cape to be added to her file.

"Right, basically I stalled for time for Jiraiya's plan. She had been involved in the fight since the beginning, so I thought it best to follow her lead. Eventually, at her direction, I knocked Bushido out of his steam and she punctured his steam pack with her knife."

He frowned apologetically as he continued, "I didn't see what happened after that but I assume she used something that Chemist made because the pack immediately started rusting to an extreme degree. It even spread to his armor before he was able to get rid of the pack."

Armsmaster looked particularly interested at that. The Brockton Protectorate leader seemed to need to almost physically restrain himself from interrogating the Ward about the tinker tech.

Aegis took a breath before continuing, "Chemist came in and turned his remaining steam into ice with more of his orbs. I then knocked out Bushido."

The Wards and a few of the protectorate heroes looked impressed at that. Shadow Stalker was staring speculatively at Aegis as though mentally re-evaluating him.

"The orange toad, Gamakichi," Aegis stumbled over the foreign name before continuing, "joined us after that." He frowned as he spoke, "I am not exactly sure what happened after that. Bakuda was back in the fight by that time and Jiraiya made the call to retreat. I'm not sure how it happened but Chemist provided a smoke cloud and I felt myself get swallowed by a toad."

The Ward was interrupted by startled snickering from Assault and a few of the Wards at hearing that while others looked shocked or confused.

"I don't know how exactly," Aegis continued with laudable composure, "but I was released from the toad miles away. The same toad later spat up an unconscious Bushido before disappearing. I don't know what happened to Chemist and Jiraiya.

"She can teleport people between toads?" Kid Win asked confused.

Aegis shrugged, "I don't really know what happened. But that is when I called to get Bushido picked up and I returned to base."

"It seems more likely that whatever happened was related to a specific creature she commanded," Armsmaster posited thoughtfully.

"She didn't say anything either. Unless this was a pre-planned get away, she might have a way to communicate with her creatures," Aegis added.

"It's all speculation," Piggot interrupted before others could add to the conjecture. "She's been shown to have toads capable of going one on one with Hookwolf, fight off two dangerous capes simultaneously in the form of Oni Lee and the Lady, and now apparently some form of teleportation."

She let the scope of what she'd said sink in before continuing.

"That's just what we know of. Every time this girl goes out she finds herself outnumbered and outgunned. She's reckless, and powerful."

She let that sink in for a moment before continuing.

"If any of you encounter her on your patrols I want you to push the Wards, hard. Under no circumstances," she added, voice hard, "are you to antagonize her." Piggot sent a particularly level glare towards Shadow Stalker.

Turning to Clockblocker her eyes narrowed, "you're going to continue your communication with her. Float the idea of the Wards to her and see if you can't get any more details on what exactly she did during that fight."

Her gaze shifted back to the Ward captain. "Aegis, you're temporarily suspended of your leadership, Gallant will take over command of the Wards in the interim."

She ignored the protest form the Wards as Aegis slumped dejectedly already moving on to Clockblocker, "And you will be pulling monitor duty and double patrols for the next 3 months."

Piggot relaxed back in her seat. "Now, is there anything else to add?

The heroes exchanged looks before Dauntless raised a hand, "Well, a bank was robbed by a group of out of towners known as The Travelers."

Emily Piggot sighed and massaged her temples. She could feel a headache coming on.


	19. Interlude 3-b: Aftermath pt 2 - Various

Interlude 3.b: Aftermath pt. 2 – Various

 **Chemist – (Immediately After the Fight)**

The world came back in a rush. He gasped as the world came into focus. Being inside that toad was incredibly disorientating. It wasn't at all like what one might expect.

Not slimy or stifling.

Instead, it was the complete absence of everything. All 5 senses ceased to be, yet he was still somehow able to sense his own body. He couldn't even call what he was in darkness. It was like existing in nothing. His brain hurt from even thinking about trying to understand how it all worked.

He struggled to describe it in his own mind even as he experienced it.

That was moot though. The point was, his sudden reintroduction to the world came with sensory overload in all senses. So, he could be forgiven for taking a while to realize that he wasn't alone.

A muffled groan of pain brought him back to the present situation.

In an instant, he remembered the situation he'd just left. Adrenaline flooded his system as he belatedly checked for danger, half expecting to see more ABB capes.

Finally taking in the area he was confused to find himself in a rather spacious and comfortably furnished room. The furniture was a strange mix between expensive and shabby and gave the room a sense of clashing personalities.

Thoughts of the room and its odd feng shui left Greg's mind immediately when he spotted the other occupants of the room.

A large toad with the number 3 emblazoned on its chest was looking worriedly at his red coated rescuer was currently hunched over her hand, the source of the pained sound.

His confusion only grew when he saw who was trying to attend Jiraiya.

What was Parian doing here?

"What the hell is going on?"

He hadn't even realized he'd spoken aloud till the doll girl's head whipped in his direction. Greg barely stopped himself from flinching, even behind a full-faced mask he could tell when a girl was glaring at him.

"What's going on," the rogues answered in a tight voice, "is that my friend's hand somehow became charbroiled. Presumably while helping you."

The chemical tinker was saved from having to answer by Jiraiya placing a calming hand on the rogues shoulder.

"It's okay," Jiraiya said to the rogue, what could be seen of her face was pale and tight with pain.

He couldn't help himself from being impressed and a little intimidated as the tall girl who couldn't have been much older than him managed to quickly compose herself through what had to be an immense amount of pain.

After he'd gotten powers he had taken a long hard look at himself. Greg could say with a fair amount of certainty that he could not have done the same.

"Thank you," he said belatedly, realizing what she'd gone through for his sake.

It was something that he should have expressed immediately, but the events of the day had left him in something of a tailspin. He hadn't expected to make it out of that situation alive when the ABB capes had cornered him.

Of course, he hadn't expected to get eaten by a toad either, but given the alternatives he figured that he could roll with it.

"You're welcome. Do you know why they wanted you so badly?"

Chemist snorted a little at that one. Because yeah, he knew. And it was such a stupid reason too.

"Pride mostly, also a little bit of opportunity."

Seeing her confusion Greg explained the situation to the best of his understanding.

"I met Bushido on my first time out. Hadn't finished my tech at that point, was just looking to field test a few chemicals, but he caught me."

Greg grimaced at the memory of his first close call.

"I managed to escape," he said shortly.

"Ah," the other hero said in understanding. "And I take it that he didn't respond well to that."

"To say the least," the tinker agreed dryly. "From what he said when they had me cornered before you got there, Lung wasn't too happy with him. I got the impression that this was his chance at payback while getting rid of a potential threat."

"Threat?" The master asked him in confusion.

"He's a tinker," Parian said in answer.

Greg forced himself not to jump. He'd forgotten about the rogue. He kept a wary eye on the clothier as she continued. He didn't want to make her angry again.

"Tinkers are often game changers," the doll girl explained to the taller brunette. "Given enough time and resources they can adapt and overcome almost any situation. More importantly for the gangs, though, is that they can arm non-powered members. Suddenly the baseline grunts could have the ability to stand up against other capes." Gesturing vaguely at the tinker she continued, "The ABB wouldn't take him since he's white. But if the Merchants or the E88 got ahold of him, it could be a pretty big boost. Hell," she continued, "having a tinker is one of the few reasons the Merchants haven't been destroyed by the other gangs."

"I would never join them," Greg interjected hotly because it needed to be said. It would be like spitting on the very reason he'd gotten these powers. He may speak before he thinks sometimes, but he wasn't in the habit of repeating mistakes. He refused to let himself stand by and let villains win the way he had Emma and her flunkies and what they'd done to Taylor.

Noticing a shift in the atmosphere he was surprised to find Jiraiya had shifted, placing herself slightly between him and Parian. The rogue for her part seemed shocked at the vitriol of his response.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, forcing himself to relax. "I didn't mean to react so strongly. Just know that I would never join the gangs."

"It's okay," Jiraiya said, though he noted that she didn't move from her position between him and Parian, "it's natural to be tense after what we just went through."

Greg nodded awkwardly and accepted the olive branch for what it was.

"If it helps, you shouldn't have to worry about Bushido anymore." Sensing his confusion the toad hero elaborated. "I sent him with Aegis." Gesturing vaguely at their location she continued, "I didn't want more people in my base than necessary, so I sent them to Ichi. The toad that saved you initially," she added at his confused look.

Greg nodded in response as he absorbed the new information, he had wondered where the Ward was. He felt a tightness in his chest ease at the news. Greg wasn't dumb enough to think that it was over, or that the ABB would forget about him.

Bakuda in particular, had looked like she had wanted him dead. Almost more than Bushido had if it was possible. But it was a relief to know that he wouldn't have to look over his shoulder for Bushido anymore.

"Thank you," he said again.

Sighing, he looked around at the room again, idly wondering how on earth the other cape had gotten ahold of this place. It was extremely nice if a bit dated.

"This is the second time I've been backed against a wall and almost died," he admitted eventually. "I'm going to go home and program more of my chemicals into my pack, but even then I don't think that would've been enough today." Looking at the taller girl seriously he continued, "I've underestimated the size a target being a tinker would put on me."

Greg paused as he tried to order his thoughts. Looking closely at Jiraiya who looked patient for the most part but something in her expression showed some of the pain she couldn't hide completely. He continued, deciding to take the plunge and ask so she could get her hand taken care of.

"I would like to team up sometime."

He continued hurriedly before the obviously shocked girl could speak.

"You don't have to answer now, but the cities getting dangerous. I'm assuming that you aren't joining the Wards, or you would have already. It's not a part of my plans either. If we don't mesh, then I would at least like to exchange information. So that we can get ahold of each other in case something like today comes up again."

He waited nervously as the two girls exchanged a look. Greg knew he was going out on a limb a bit with this. They'd just met, and it was during her rescuing him of all things. Not exactly something that would engender confidence in his abilities.

"I'm not saying no," the other girl began cautiously, "but I guess it wasn't something that I'd considered before. I would need some time to think about it."

Greg frowned but nodded in understanding. It wasn't the best he could have hoped for, but it wasn't a no either. And he understood too. There was a reason that hero teams outside of the Protectorate were few and far between. Partnership between capes involved a lot of trust, which wasn't always easy to come by when you were wearing a mask.

"I'll contact you on PHO with my information. I'm assuming you're verified?"

Jiraiya nodded in response.

"Okay," he said. "So," he said looking around awkwardly, "how do I get home."

The girls exchanged another look, before coming to an agreement.

"You probably aren't going to like it," Parian spoke.

Greg winced at the way the rogue sounded amused about that. She definitely wasn't his biggest fan. Greg supposed it made sense that she wouldn't want to give away the exact location of her base yet when they'd just met. That didn't mean he had to like it.

"Toad?" he asked resignedly.

"Toad," Jiraiya agreed apologetically.

He could hear the toad with the 3 on its chest move behind him, and Chemist found himself swallowed once more.

The world came back to life as he was spat out. Mentally shuddering at that, he decided that if for any reason he had to be inside a toad again he would think of it as being released, not spat out.

Blinking blearily as he tried to get his bearings he was thankful that his goggles helped adjust the lighting so that he wasn't blinded.

"Gonna be okay kid?"

Jumping in shock at the voice he turned to face a snickering toad with a number one on its chest. The toad looked a little worse for wear. Sporting a few small to moderate cuts he assumed must have come from Oni Lee.

The worst of the injuries was what looked like a gunshot that had grazed its shoulder. He frowned when he saw it. It didn't look much like a gunshot wound, at least not completely. Greg didn't consider himself an expert, but he was pretty sure guns didn't leave laser burns.

Maybe Oni Lee had a tinker-tech gun?

He supposed it wasn't impossible, though from what he knew their tinker was a bomb specialist.

"Yeah," he answered, realizing that he was staring. "You?"

The toad looked down at his wounds and scoffed.

"No worries, this is nothing."

"Thank you for saving me earlier."

The toad grinned, Ichi Jiraiya had called him, "No problem. Make it home safe yeah? It's been a long day."

And with that, the toad disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Greg stared at the empty spot where the giant talking toad had been standing. Heaving an exhausted sigh, he began heading home.

Today had been a very strange day.

* * *

 **Parian**

She stared at the spot where the male cape had disappeared from. Parian felt bad about being so hostile. The shock of someone other than her or Taylor in their base combined with Taylor showing up injured hadn't left her in a welcoming mood.

A hiss of pain from her friend reminded her that Taylor was currently dealing with a very serious burn.

While distantly pleased that Taylor didn't feel a need to hide her pain around her as she'd done with the tinker, she was too busy cursing herself for her absentmindedness to enjoy it as she fumbled in her pockets before heading over to the taller cape.

"Here take this, I'm going to get the first aid kit.

"What is it? And what are you doing here anyway?" Taylor asked face white with pain as she dry swallows the pill that was given to her. Her toad looked on worriedly.

"Percocet," Parian answered absent-mindedly as she dug through the first aid kit that they'd stocked the base with at her insistence. "And I was going to go home, but I was worried and figured that you would stop here after whatever happened. Though I wasn't expecting the company," she added candidly.

"Where did you get that?" The summoner asked in surprise referring to the prescription pill.

"I live on a college campus," Sabah said as though it should be obvious. "The only place easier to get drugs would be in an actual hospital. I decided that if you're going to keep getting hurt, you would eventually need something stronger than over the counter pain medicine. Though," she continued reproachfully, unable to fully hide her worry, "I didn't think you would need it this fast."

Grabbing her bottle of water from when they'd been cleaning earlier she soaked a rag and gently applied it to her friend's hand, wincing at the pained sounds she made.

Looking up to check on Taylor, she found herself on the receiving end of a shocked and impressed look.

"Thank you," Taylor said awkwardly seemingly not sure what to say.

Parian found herself embarrassed. It was odd, because as weird as Taylor could be with social interaction she was generally pretty composed when it came to cape stuff.

"Yes, well," she spoke in an effort to regain some composure busying herself with gathering ointment from the kit, "I think I may be starting to get something of a reputation around the campus. I was even invited to a rave the other day," she added dryly.

Sabah had to stifle a giggle at the look on Taylor's face. The younger cape looked as if she didn't know if she wanted to laugh or apologize.

"It's okay," she assured her friend. "This is important. Being a cape is dangerous, and it's important that we do whatever we can to mitigate that."

Taylor nodded in agreement, having gotten injured every single time that she had gone out so far, the brunette wasn't going to argue that statement.

"Having said that," Parian spoke as she applied the ointment to Taylor's ruined hand, "you really need to get to the hospital."

Behind the mask that she hadn't bothered to remove yet Parian frowned. Taylor's hand was a mess. Open sores, presumably from when she'd taken off her glove, blisters, and skin that was looking more like leather at this point.

"This is serious," she said over the other girl's protests. "I'm doing the best I can here, but I'm not trained and this is beyond me. You could get infected, or worse. I just don't know."

"Is it even possible for me to go to the hospital?" Taylor asked after a beat.

"Of course," she answered staring at Taylor uncomprehendingly. Sometimes she forgot how new the younger girl was to all of this. "The hospitals has a protocol for this sort of thing. As long as you aren't a villain it really isn't a problem. In fact, it's generally easier here since Panacea works there a lot. The hospital staff is used to working around capes," she said, educating the younger girl as she carefully bandaged the burned hand.

Another frown crossed her features as she took in Taylor's tired form. It looked like she would have to repair her coat again. She was lucky they were friends, the way Taylor wore through them she would have made a fortune in no time if she'd charged her.

"Listen to the little doll, summoner," San interjected.

Parian barely restrained a squeak of surprise, managing to turn it into a choking cough. Not much better in the end, but, it at least let her preserve her dignity. She'd forgotten that the toad was in the room, focused as she was on helping treat Taylor's hand.

"You need healing. And if you do not take care of yourself, I will be forced to inform Gamakichi-san."

"Alright," Taylor finally agreed as she shot a dirty look at the 3rd Courier brother.

"How are we going to get there? San isn't big enough for the both of us, can you summon without both hands? And you will be telling me the full story behind that and how that tinker was involved," Sabah finished sharply.

"Yes," the summoner confirmed reluctantly, in answer to both of Sabah's statements. "But it takes a lot out of me," she continued about her summoning, "and I'm pretty tired already. It will be better for me to be in him while you ride and give him directions."

Of course.

Why hadn't she thought of that?

"At least, I won't be able to feel my hand in there," Taylor said aloud, trying to make going inside a toad sound better than it was. Because as useful as the brothers were, you were still inside a toad. A prospect few people could meet with excitement, potentially life-saving or not.

Parian carefully avoided looking as Taylor was swallowed by San. As useful and powerful as Taylor's ability could be, at times it was just gross.

The ride to the hospital passed in a blur. She spent most of the ride with her eyes shut. She had no idea how Taylor took to riding the toads so easily, but she was still getting used to it.

Relief to be on solid ground suffused through her when her feet found themselves on solid ground once more. By the time she had finished appreciating movement that wasn't accompanied by jarring jumps, Taylor had already been expelled from her toad who disappeared back to wherever they came from after a few words with his cape.

Parian frowned at the way her friend stumbled. She wasn't sure if it was just disorientation from being inside the toad or if the combination of her injury, the pain pill, and her own tiredness was taking its toll on her.

Regardless, she moved to help her friend as they made their way into the hospital. She did her best not to show how uncomfortable she was as they instantly drew a lot of attention.

It wasn't often people just saw two capes walk into a room.

Thankfully most of the people relaxed upon seeing her. As the only rogue in the city, she carried a bit of notoriety that thankfully helped in this case. They knew she wasn't there to cause trouble.

Frowning, she was puzzled as she took in the overflowing hospital room. Most of them seemed shell shocked. Some were sporting bruises and cuts while more than a few had some superficial burns.

Had Bushido done this?

Making her way to the front desk she was cut off by the worker before she could speak.

The nurse looked exhausted, but her tired eyes widened at the sight of two capes.

"I thought Panacea took care of the capes first? Did you run across Lung too?"

"Lung?" Parian asked in surprise.

"You didn't know?" It was the nurses turn to be surprised. "That's why we're so slammed. Lung made a huge attack against the Empire."

Sabah's skipped a beat at the thought of Lung cutting loose. If that was the case, she was surprised there weren't more people here. Lung didn't have a reputation for caring about collateral damage, and if he was going against the Empire, then there would have been more than enough of it to go around.

Dismissing it for now, she focused on the more immediate matter of getting Taylor some help. Though she made a mental note to reach out and see what she could find out assuming whatever had gone down wasn't currently wallpapering the Brockton forum on the PHO.

"Bushido," she said in answer.

The nurse's face pinched at that. The hospitals that edged Lung's territory had become intimately familiar with his handiwork since he'd joined the gang.

"Let me see," she said, "if it's serious I'll put you on the rush to see Panacea. I'd like to get you two taken care of fast if possible. No offense, but it's probably not best for these people to have capes near them considering how they got hurt if we want to keep them calm."

Parian didn't even react to the second part of what the nurse had said, too focused on the first half of her statement.

Panacea was here?

That was more than she could have hoped for. Something like hope and relief suffused through her, easing her tension and replacing it with tiredness. The whole situation had taken a lot out of her, and she hadn't even been involved in the fighting. Being Taylor's friend could be stressful at times.

Gesturing to Taylor for her to show her hand to the nurse she was met with a foggy stare. The taller girl had zoned out for the conversation, lost in a fog of pain and medication.

Groaning, Parian grabbed Taylor's wrist and carefully unwrapped the bandages to show the nurse Taylor's melted hand.

The nurse blanched at that before grabbing the two and leading them down a hallway, stopping at a door towards the end.

"Wait here," she said to the two capes before knocking on the door and entering.

After a few moments, the nurse reappeared gesturing for them to come in.

Parian did so, grabbing and dragging Taylor to follow her as the other girl stared absently at a spot on the ceiling.

In the room was Panacea speaking with a man that looked to be in his late 20s. He looked to be thanking her, he was wearing a tattered shirt. The back of which was almost completely destroyed from what looked like a massive burn. She could only imagine what it had looked like before Panacea had gotten her hands on him but now all that could be seen was unblemished flesh.

The nurse took the man and led him out the room as he thanked her one last time.

Panacea didn't look surprised to see them. Parian assumed the nurse had told her that two capes were about to enter the room. The younger healer looked tired to Sabah. Dark circles ringing her eyes giving her a bruised, fragile appearance peering out from her voluminous robe, her red scarf hung loosely around her throat and didn't conceal her face as it usually did. Despite that, she looked at them evenly with a hint of curiousness.

"You look familiar," Taylor spoke, breaking the silence. Eyeing the curly haired brunette seriously, she continued, "Have you ever been a young child before?"

"What?" the New Wave member asked startled.

"It is okay small girl," Taylor continued blithely, "your hair is frizzy and enjoyable so I will forgive you for not answering."

Panacea for her part looked poleaxed, unsure of how to respond to the taller girl's strangeness. Her composure was gone and she shot a look towards Parian from some sort of explanation.

Sabah did her best not to laugh hysterically at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.

"She's tired, in pain, and I gave her a Percocet," the rogue said in explanation.

Nodding unsurely Panacea watched as the Parian helped Taylor unravel her bandages. The healer didn't blink at the sight of the horrible wound, merely examining it with a clinical detachment that Parian envied. That would have been useful when she was trying to dress the toad cape's wound at their base.

"Do I have your permission to heal you?"

Taylor stared at her gravely as she decided how to answer the question. Parian in what she considered a move that was best friend didn't scream at her to say yes.

"Only if you smile curly hair." She said airily.

Parian lost the battle and let out a groan, hand slapping into her mask with exasperation.

Panacea for her part seemed to decide that she was going to be amused with the situation instead of weirded out and gave a small laugh at the taller brunette.

"Of course," she said with a nod and her lips quirked into an amused smile.

Seeing that, Taylor promptly stuck out her hand for the healer.

"Your permission," she said.

Panacea's smile widened into something a little more genuine as she reached for the ruined hand.

Parian watched in fascination as with a touch the flesh started mending itself. It was amazing. Even with capes and all that they could do, watching Panacea at work was something special. In what seemed like no time, the ravaged flesh was replaced by a hand. Pink, healthy, and whole.

Taylor blinked, eyes no longer foggy and dilated staring at her hand as though it were a trick. Once the surprise at being greeted with a whole and complete hand wore off her eyes widened in horror. Turning to the healer with a flush that was only partially hidden by her mask she spoke.

"I am so sorry."

Panacea finally let loose a little laugh at the taller girl.

"It's okay," she assured the mortified hero, "it was one of my more interesting cases today," waving off the brunette's apology.

Parian snorted in amusement at that which turned to laughter when Taylor shot her a betrayed look. Sabah was relieved to have her friend back in health. Taylor could just deal with a little teasing for worrying her.

"Really, thank you. I don't know what I would have done to explain that wound."

"How did it happen if you don't mind me asking?" Panacea asked curiously, "I don't remember seeing you after the Lung and Empire fight."

"Lung?" Taylor asked in confusion. "No, it was Bushido that got me. I came across him and the other ABB capes trying to take out an independent tinker."

The freckled brunette looked displeased at the mention of the ABB shaker.

"You're lucky," she said. "I've seen his victims, most don't get off so easily."

Parian was about to interrupt and very pointedly ask how a melted hand counted as easy but was interrupted by Taylor speaking.

"Well, you won't have to see any more of them."

At Panacea's questioning look the toad cape elaborated.

"I managed to capture him with help from Chemist, the tinker they were after, and Aegis. He should be waking up from unconsciousness in a PRT cell."

"You captured him?"

Parian bristled a little at the disbelief that painted the healer's tone.

How was that any more unbelievable than when she'd taken on 3 Empire capes to save her?

"Yeah," Taylor confirmed, seemingly oblivious to both Panacea's disbelief and Parian's irritation.

"Then, I'm glad. He was a monster," Panacea said resolutely.

A moment passed before Parian let out a tired exhale.

"We should probably get out of your hair. It's been a long day and we're probably holding up the queue."

Panacea let out a sigh of her own in agreement, but it seemed reluctant. As if she'd enjoyed the short break she'd had of treating people to just talk with others. Parian supposed that it made sense. Amazing abilities or not, it couldn't be easy being the most capable healer in the country.

Taylor looked a little unsure with Panacea's reluctance but ultimately agreed. Reaching out and placing a hand on the healer's shoulder she thanked the New Wave cape again. And with that, the two capes left the hospital.

Standing outside the entrance Taylor stared at her hand again, as if to make sure that it was still healed.

"Get some rest."

Taylor looked over at Parian in surprise.

"You need it," the older cape said firmly. "Don't think that this is me letting you off the hook, though, you're still going to explain what happened today. But, get some rest first."

"Okay, thanks." The toad master said a little unsurely. "Did you need a ride?"

"No," Sabah denied. "It's okay, I'll find somewhere to change and take the bus."

"You brought regular clothes? Where do you keep it?" Taylor asked curiously.

"Of course I have spare clothes," Sabah said archly. "I'm Parian."

As she walked off Sabah smirked as she heard what the other cape muttered behind her back.

"She never said where she keeps them."

* * *

 **Taylor (1 Hour After Leaving the Hosptial)**

Panacea had done a good job. It wasn't just her hand that felt better. Every lingering bruise or hurt had faded. Aches, dull and constant from the locker that she'd almost not realized that she was still feeling until they disappeared. The only side effect from what she could tell was being more hungry than usual. That could have just as easily been from all the summoning and fighting that she'd done today too. It was miraculous really, what the healer could accomplish.

She leaned back against the wall of the roof she was sitting on staring as the sun started to set.

She knew that she should head home. She was exhausted, and that had only been exacerbated by the healing, as good as it had made her feel.

But she couldn't quite bring herself to move.

Logically, she knew that the day had gone well. She had gone to bat against 4 capes and had arguably come out on top. She had managed to save Chemist, and even capture Bushido, arguably one of the most dangerous capes in the city.

Thinking back to the fight, she supposed it had gone as well as she could have hoped. Her plans had worked for the most part. And they had been able to make a clean escape at the end thanks to Ni.

Ni had sent her and Chemist to San at the base while Kichi had grabbed Bushido and handed him off to Ni once they'd both been back to Mount Myoboku. The unconscious cape then joined Aegis with Ichi somewhere in the city.

She supposed she owed the Ward captain an explanation for that at some point. Especially after all he'd done to help keep Bushido occupied. Taylor just wasn't exactly ready to share her base with more people than she had to at the moment.

Chemist had been a bit of a necessity to try and figure out what was going on and to make sure that he was okay. But Aegis could take care of himself, and he would probably be obligated to share whatever he knew with the PRT.

Taylor closed her eyes as she thought about Chemist. The idea of teaming up with someone hadn't really occurred to her before. Mostly because when she thought of a hero team, she just thought of the Protectorate. Foolish maybe since she was in the same city as New Wave but it hadn't been something she'd ever considered as an option before.

Taylor wasn't stupid. As awkward socially as she could be, she knew the value of numbers and teamwork. Both from her toads and when Parian had saved her life against Alabaster.

Well, it was something that she would have to consider she supposed. She didn't have to have an answer immediately.

If she had to put a pin in exactly why she was so unsatisfied with how the fight had gone, Taylor supposed it wasn't even that it had ended in a retreat. She had a certain pride in her powers, she loved her toads, but it wasn't the sort of thing that made a tactical retreat settle sourly in her stomach. She knew and understood why they'd retreated.

No, she supposed that the reason the fight had left her unsettled was Gamatatsu. Her injury didn't bother her too much, aside from the pain and the initial freak out over how bad it had been anyway. Taylor had accepted pain as a part of the life she'd chosen.

But Gamatatsu's defeat had rattled her. The toads had done a lot for her. And they'd collectively met every challenge and fight so far with almost complete victory. She hadn't realized it, but Taylor guessed she'd sort of taken it for granted that when things got bad, her toads would find a way to pull through.

Having that illusion shattered by Bushido affected her more than she thought it would. She supposed it was a lesson that she had to learn. But Taylor wished it hadn't been at Gamatatsu's expense.

She made a mental note to buy a lot of candy for the dopey toad.

He deserved every cavity inducing bit she could get her hands on.

Her musings were interrupted by a warmth radiating from her forearm. Glancing down at her arm she frowned as the sigil glowed red.

She knew that theoretically her toads could contact her through the tattoo. Taylor wasn't sure of the mechanics behind it, but the toads were able to pull through her link with them to let her know that one of them wanted to be summoned. It had just never happened before.

Tiredly she flickered through hand signs, immensely grateful to have the use of both hands to summon. She didn't think she could manage another one through the tattoo and stay conscious.

Pressing her palm lightly onto the ground beside her she saw the familiar blast of smoke from which Gamakichi emerged.

"Your hand is healed," the toad noted in pleased surprise, "you'll have to tell me how you did that."

"How is Gamatatsu doing?" She questioned ignoring that for the moment.

The toad's satisfied look twisted into something much darker.

"He's okay. Tired and hurt, but he'll be alright. That's more than what I could say for the jinchuuriki wannabe had I come across him in my homeland," the toad added grimly.

As irritating as Tatsu could be at times, and as annoyed as he made Gamakichi on an almost daily basis, the orange toad never hid his anger at those who chose to hurt his little brother.

Taylor nodded carefully not bothering to ask about the jinchuuriki thing. They had explained the term to her when talking about their previous summoner but she assumed he wasn't talking about Naruto.

She had come to accept that the rules of the toad's home were different, and often times more permanent than her own. She wasn't always at ease with that reality though. Taylor was thankful for his restraint. She didn't know what she would have done if Kichi had decided to take his anger out on the unconscious cape in a more final manner.

"Why did you want me to summon you?" She asked as much to change the subject as out of curiosity.

Gamakichi looked conflicted. The normally confident toad looked to be searching for a way to say what he wanted.

"There's a human on Mount Myoboku," he stated bluntly.

Taylor sat up straight and stared at her partner uncomprehendingly.

"Apparently Ichi ran into a kid. I'm not sure what the details are but they were attacked and he sent her to Ni through their shared dimension to save her."

Taylor slowly slumped back down. She was way too tired for this shit.

"Do you know who it is?"

Wearily her eyes made tracked back to the skyline as Kichi answered her, informing her of what she knew about the situation. The sun was well on its way to setting. The sky was a beautiful red bruised with shades of purple and orange.

The Bay could be really beautiful at times despite its ugliness.

As she listened to Kichi speak she only had the energy to come up with a single question.

Who the hell is Dinah Alcott?

* * *

 **Coil (During the Fight)**

Thomas Calvert frowned behind his concealing mask as his men reported an oddity. The girl they'd been tracking had found a protector. A very odd one too.

With great reluctance, he collapsed the timeline where he'd stayed home and researched his investments. The knowledge he had of that day was the only proof that the timeline had existed at all.

In the next moment he split the timelines again.

He despised this. When he'd split the timelines and his bodies were close to each other. If his mercenaries decided to spontaneously betray him and gun him down right now, he'd have no defense. Unfortunately, the girl was too important to leave to chance. He would just have to take the risk.

 **Timeline A**

"Advance slowly. The target is with a master's projection, expect it to possess basic brute abilities at the minimum." He spoke, directing his mercenary team.

 **Timeline B**

"Hold and observe the target. Report what you see," he spoke in the second timeline to his team.

 **Timeline A**

He watched as the mercenaries advanced cautiously. Coil frowned at the sight of the two talking. The girl was frantic, trying to explain something to the large toad she'd somehow encountered. He took a mental note of the number one emblazoned on its chest.

"Advancing, preparing to take the shot," one of the mercenaries whispered.

His frown deepened when he saw the toad tense.

In a flash, the creature grabbed ahold of the girl and jumped just as the mercenary fired, spraying a salvo of laser blasts to the spot where the toad had previously occupied.

By the time the mercenaries had gotten over their shock the toad had already landed on the roof and began hopping away at a speed his team couldn't hope to match.

With a snarl of frustration, Coil collapsed the timeline.

 **Timeline B**

He split the timeline again as he began speaking to the team.

"They seem to be talking. The construct is able to communicate with the target. They look like they're about to leave. Permission to engage."

"The construct has advanced senses and the ability to leap great heights. Make your first shot count," he ordered brusquely.

 **Timeline C**

It took all of his training not to curse. This shouldn't be happening. He had cashed in favors and spent a lot of money to ensure that this kidnapping wouldn't be bothered. The Travelers had attacked the bank at just the right time to distract the Wards. That it had turned out unnecessary due to Lung was irritating.

That his perfectly tailored kidnapping was failing due to random chance was infuriating. There wasn't time to split anymore. His mercenaries could only cover a little more distance before the toad grabbed the target and left according to the other timeline.

"Attack, take out the creature and grab the target," he ordered tersely.

"Roger."

The mercenaries let loose a barrage of fire toward the toad.

 **Timeline B**

The mercenaries advanced silently on radio silence, careful not to alert the toad to their presence. Using a series of hand signals the splayed out in three groups to get multiple attack vectors.

The target said something to the toad causing it to tense. The leader of the team squeezed his hand into a fist and his team members fired.

A mass of laser bolts lanced toward the toad just as it moved to grab the girl. It wasn't quick enough avoid all of the blasts, getting clipped by one of the bolts causing it to let out a croak of pain.

The mercenaries continued firing as they made a steady advance. A stray bolt nearly hit the target causing the girl to shriek. The toad reacted swiftly and lashed out with its tongue. The target gave a scream of surprise as the fleshy appendage wrapped around her stomach and pulled her into its mouth. With a great leap it ran from the approaching mercenaries, not before being clipped one more time.

 **Timeline C**

The storm of fire from the mercenaries caught the toad by surprise. It pushed the target down as 5 shots pierced into its hide as it gave a shout of pain, stumbling down to the ground.

The mercenaries approached at a run.

"Construct is down," the leader reported.

"Status of the target," Coil demanded, voice tight.

"Fuck," the field captain breathed as they reached the target.

One of the subordinates shot the downed toad twice in the head as the mercenaries gathered around the target.

"Target is down. She was clipped by a shot," the mercenary leader reported reluctantly.

At their feet Dinah Alcott gasped for breath, a pool of red spreading from her stomach. A breath turned into a gurgle as she choked on her own blood.

 **Timeline B**

"We've lost the target sir. She's gone," reported the mercenary captain.

Coil stared at the screen, almost uncomprehending.

 **Timeline C**

The air at the base was tense, the operatives carefully eyeing their boss.

Coil didn't move a muscle. Eyes glued to the screen as the life faded from the target's eyes until she finally stilled.

"Sir, she's gone."

He reacted.

With a scream of rage, he drew his gun and shot.

One by one his staff fell to the bullets. He ignored pleas for mercies and cries for help, gunning them down until he was the last one alive.

Heaving great shaking breaths he dropped the emptied gun. Reaching down to one of the downed soldiers he grabbed the deceased man's gun and with another bellow shot the bodies.

Dropping the emptied gun once more he stared at the screen, locked onto the deceased Dinah Alcott's face.

He collapsed the timeline.

 **Timeline B**

His voice was cold and steady.

"Find out everything you can about this new cape, Jiraiya. And send out feelers, I want the target found immediately."

The staff in his base got to work immediately, carefully trying to avoid their boss' attention.

Coil stood still surrounded by a flurry of activity and glared at the screen where the toad had been.

* * *

Whew, okay this was a long one. Also, Coil's a pain in the ass to write. Hope you all enjoy! Let me know what you guys think.


	20. Escalation 4-1

Escalation 4.1

"Yeah, I understand. No, I met her at the library a few weeks ago. Her name's Sabah. Oh, I'm borrowing her cell phone. So, is it okay if I spend the night at her place? She's going to help me finish my homework. Yeah, I've been having some problems with biology lately. Probably a movie after. Okay, thanks dad. Yeah, I love you too."

Taylor hung up the phone with a frown curving her lips.

"What's wrong?" her partner asked from his position on the rooftop they shared.

"Nothing," she dismissed.

Gamakichi shot his summoner an expectant gaze causing the tired girl to give a sigh.

"I guess I just don't like that it was so easy for me to lie to him."

Getting up with a stretch, Taylor interrupted her toad partner before he could interject on what she had just said.

"I have to make a stop before we go," she informed the orange toad at her side.

The level look he sent her way let her know that this conversation wasn't over. But thankfully the toad relented for now and moved over to his summoner.

With a practiced heave, Taylor settled herself on the toad's back and sent an impulse through their bond. She had too much on her mind at the moment for talking.

Primary was Gamatatsu. The dopey yellow toad had taken some serious hits today in the fight against Bushido. The steam shaker hadn't been pulling any punches. She was worried about him. Not only was he the brother of the toad she was closest with, she was their summoner. They were fighting her fights.

Taylor didn't voice the thoughts aloud. All it would do was earn her a lecture on how she was a member of the toad family. And as such they weren't fighting her fights, they were fighting their fights. It didn't help ease the guilt she was feeling at Gamatatsu's injured state.

The only relief in the situation was that it was Kichi who had shown up with the news of the human on Mount Myoboku. There was no way that Gamakichi would have abandoned his brother's side if the injuries had been severe.

The reason why Kichi was here brought her thoughts around to the human on Mount Myoboku. Outsiders gaining knowledge that she had access to an alternate dimension that was rich in natural resources wouldn't end well. Taylor had vowed that she would be extremely careful about who learned of it once she had realized what it could mean.

However, she couldn't condemn Ichi for bringing the kid there either. From what Kichi had said when he'd arrived, they'd been in serious danger.

If it was the difference between life and death for the kid, then she would shoulder that burden willingly.

Taylor slid off the toad once they'd arrived. She ignored the strange looks and phones taking pictures of her and her partner. This was the first time that she had made a public appearance that wasn't a cape battle.

She supposed it was natural people would be curious, irritating as it was. Actually, some of the people looked nervous. Again, probably natural. She was a hero, but she wasn't Protectorate. And even as a hero, people didn't often interact with capes outside of PRT meet and greets and publicity stunts. And while Gamakichi was her favored toad, he wasn't exactly the cuddliest of her summons. With his dark colorings, the blade on his back, and the cigarette he'd just lit up as he waited, he was like a walking talking anti-hero stereotype in appearance.

Still she had more pressing things to do than attempt to reassure the gawkers.

With a purposeful stride, Taylor entered the candy store. Ignoring the immediate hush in the store her appearance caused she started grabbing candy off of the shelves. She didn't really pay attention to what she'd picked out, she just made sure to get a wide variety. Finally, when she had both arms full of she approached the register and dumped the load unceremoniously onto the counter.

The checkout girl stared at the massive amount of candy incredulously.

"Will that be all?" she asked, her tone indicating she couldn't decide what was stranger. The, what basically amounted to an emergency rush to the dentist or the cape in her store that appeared way to serious over the purchase of candy.

At Taylor's nod, the employee began ringing up the candy.

"That will be $137.43," she said when she'd finished and the pile of candy had transformed into two bulging bags.

Any other time Taylor would have balked at spending so much money on something as dumb as candy. Today she reached into one of the many pockets of her jacket and pulled out the portion of cash from the ABB stash house she kept on hand for emergencies. Counting out the bills she handed them to the checkout girl and got her change.

"Thank you," she said nodding to the candy store employee as she walked out.

"I need a raise," the checkout girl muttered to herself as she watched the cape depart, ending the most surreal situation she'd ever experienced on the clock.

"Let's go see what Ichi brought us."

Gamakichi, who had grown something of a crowd stubbed out his cigarette at his summoner's words. Glancing at the bags she carried he rolled his eyes as he understood why they'd made a detour, but the little smirk that threatened to curl the edge of his lips showed he appreciated the gesture on his brother's behalf.

"Let's go," he agreed, ignoring the shock from the crowd at hearing him speak.

With a touch on the shoulder and a burst of smoke, the two departed from Earth Bet.

* * *

Taylor took a deep satisfied breath at the base of Mount Myoboku. The air was pure as ever and she instantly felt rejuvenated. Some of the exhaustion from the fight and the healing exited her body with another exhale from the nature rich lands of the toads.

There was something magical about this place.

"The girl's meeting with the old geezer," Gamakichi spoke, interrupting her appreciation of the surroundings.

"What would Gamamaru-sama want with her?" Taylor asked startled, stumbling a little over the foreign honorific that her toads used as she turned to face her partner questioningly.

Gamakichi shrugged in response.

"Let's go find out," he offered.

"Right."

* * *

 **Dinah**

Dinah stared at the humongous toad before her and felt her mouth go dry. It was the largest creature she'd ever seen in her life. She had a feeling that it would outstrip the Endbringers in pure size.

Despite knowing the answer already and the headache currently pounding in her temples she whispered a question to herself, eyes never leaving the gargantuan figure before her.

"Will this toad hurt me?"

A great mosaic shifted in her mind, sifting through endless possibilities.

Without conscious input, she spoke, "0.034%."

The stressed out girl nearly collapsed in relief. She had never come across an absolute before in her questions, but that was as close as it had ever gotten. She had nothing to fear from the toad before her.

The toad in question, Gamamaru, affectionately known as the 'Great Honorable Geezer' to his kin eyed the tadpole before him. Were another toad around to see the two interact they'd be shocked to see the normally forgetful and seemingly senile toad so alert and focused.

Heaving a great sigh that caused the nearly kidnapped girl to stiffen the old toad spoke.

"I fear you struggle under a great burden little seer."

Dinah's eyes widened in shock at the epithet the toad had referred to her as.

Did he know?

How could he?

"Yes," the toad spoke again, confirming the young girl's suspicions, "I too have a similar gift. Though I was much older and learned than you when I came upon it."

Dinah stared unable to speak. Unable to do anything but listen to the toad that was able to see things like she did.

The great toad frowned, "I had hoped that I would be wrong for once when I saw that I would be visited by a tadpole who could see even clearer than I. It is a terrible burden for one so young."

The toad's eyes closed and his normally constant smile shifted into the minutest of frowns.

"I saw a young seer, I saw that she would foresee something horrible. That things might seem all but hopeless."

Dinah's mouth went dry. She had nearly been kidnapped hours earlier, but somehow the grave words from the toad before her filled her with more dread than she'd felt while running, trying to escape from the people who had been chasing her.

The toads eyes opened once more, and his smile returned.

"Know this little tadpole, I am old. I am older than old, perhaps the oldest living creature left on this world. So, listen to me when I tell you this. Prophecies are never cut and dry, they are never as sure as they seem. And even when things seem impossible, it has been my experience that people find a way to keep fighting."

Dinah stared at the toad and could only nod in response to his words. He hadn't told her what she would see that would be so bad. And he hadn't told her that it would all be okay in the end. But she still felt a little better than before.

Mostly, though, she wanted her dad and her mom.

"And," the old toad continued once more, smile widening, "if you are ever in trouble, I have no doubt our own tadpole of a summoner would be able to help." He winked conspiratorially at the young girl as he continued, "she's a little rough around the edges, but she's a good one."

Dinah was saved from replying by the sounds of people approaching.

Turning to face the direction of the sound she saw a large orange toad that seemed positively tiny compared to the old one in front of her and a tall human girl in a red coat and mask that covered her lower face walking toward them with a purposeful stride.

She was tall with long dark hair, the way she moved was easy and almost dangerous. With a shiver, Dinah realized that it reminded her a little of the way that the men who had tried to kidnapped her moved.

Her headache hadn't eased at all, but she needed one last question.

She had to be sure.

"Will that cape try to harm me?"

* * *

 **Taylor**

Her eyes found the mystery girl, the already small child seemed positively miniscule next to the gigantic form of Gamamaru.

As soon as she saw the straight brown haired girl, eyes rimmed red from tears, the pieces shifted and clicked into place. She knew why she recognized the girl's last name now. Things had just gotten a lot more complicated.

The girl that her toad had saved from kidnapping, ironically by kidnapping her to Myoboku was the Mayor's niece.

She had featured in a lot of the Mayor's family photos along with his family when he'd made a big push towards the end of the last election. By all accounts, the girl was an important and close member of his family.

"4.37%," Dinah said blankly to herself.

Looking at the girl to make sure she'd heard correctly, she shared a confused look with the toad.

"Sorry to interrupt Gamamaru-sama," Kichi spoke, "but the elders said we could enter."

The old toad grumbled about tadpoles and disrespect before waving them off.

"Remember what I said," the old sage said to Dinah as they moved to leave.

The girl nodded unsurely at the huge toad before following after the girl and the orange toad.

Taylor looked unsurely at the younger girl. The girl's eyes were bloodshot from crying and she looked exhausted. Worries about having someone else know about the toad's home fell to the background in the face of the reality that was a young, traumatized girl.

"Are you okay?"

She winced as soon as the words left her mouth. Of course she wasn't okay. She had very nearly been kidnapped.

The look the younger girl shot her confirmed her thoughts.

"Sorry, that was a stupid question," Taylor admitted.

Taylor was fishing for something to say when she noticed the way that Dinah was carefully avoiding looking at Kichi.

She frowned at that.

Kichi more than most of her toads exuded a sense of danger. He just wasn't a gentle looking toad. He was a warrior through and through, and he looked the part. Well, at least until you heard one of his crappy jokes anyways.

But she needed Dinah to relax if she was going to figure out what to do, and more importantly, who was trying to kidnap Dinah and why.

"Kichi, why don't you go check on your brother? We'll catch up."

Thankfully the toad seemed to realize the intent behind her request and didn't protest, hopping away after a nod at both of the humans. The orange toad was likely eager to see how his brother was faring for himself anyways.

She was so bad at this. Taylor really wished Parian or Clockblocker were here. Both of them seemed so at ease in these sorts of situations. Taylor could barely talk to her own father. How was she supposed to comfort a traumatized girl?

Gesturing for the girl to follow her she walked over to the cavern wall and slowly slid against it, easing into a sitting position.

The rejuvenating effect of being on Myoboku had started to fade and the exhaustion from the day crept its way back into her bones.

And, she remembered one of Sophia's favored tactics at school. She was taller than the track star, but Sophia had liked to knock her down and lord over Taylor. To make her feel small and powerless.

Taylor didn't know if Dinah felt intimidated by her at all, but best to give the other girl the advantage anyways. Besides, she really was tired.

"I was in a fight with the ABB," she explained to the other girl. "That's why my toad was in the area at the time, he was leading Oni Lee away while my," here she paused, unsure of how to refer to Chemist and Aegis, "allies," she settled with, "and I dealt with Bushido."

"I'm Jiraiya, by the way," Taylor said introducing herself. "You might not have heard of me, I'm still relatively new as things go. But I'm a hero, and I will help you if I can." It was still a little surreal, introducing herself as a hero.

Depressingly, Dinah didn't appear as relieved at that information as Taylor hoped she would be. At least some of the tension the other girl had been carrying since finding herself alone with Taylor eased a little.

"Ichi, my toad," she explained to the younger girl's uncertain look, "said that they had guns that shot blasts of light. Now," Taylor continued, "my toads don't know much about technology for the most part. But that sounds like some tinker-tech weaponry to me, which isn't easy to get a hold of. So, do you know who those men were?"

Dinah shook her head in the negative and remained mute.

"Right," Taylor sighed to herself. That would make things too easy after all. "Do you know why they were after you?"

Something shifted in Dinah at that question. She still looked scared and unsure, but she leveled a look to the taller cape that was laden with a seriousness not usually seen from a 12-year old. The girl opened her mouth to speak but stopped and rubbed at her temples, as though to ease a headache.

Dinah cast an uncertain look back toward where they'd left Gamamaru. She seemed to come to some sort of decision as she turned back to face Taylor.

Looking nervous but determined, she answered Taylor's question.

"Yes," Dinah affirmed in answer to Taylor's question. Her voice was clear with certainty. "They were after me because I am a cape."

Taylor sighed once more.

Because of course she was.

* * *

AN - Approaching on 200 reviews. That's pretty incredible, I'm glad so many people are interested in this. As always if you have any questions, comments, thoughts, etc... feel free to ask, I answer frequently. Enjoy.

Edit - Fixed a mistake where I referred to Dinah as the Mayor's daughter as opposed to niece. Thanks to **Mingyu** for pointing it out.


	21. Escalation 4-2

Escalation 4.2

"What are your powers?"

"I can see the future," was Dinah's simple reply.

Taylor stared at the girl to see if she was serious. The younger girl looked back, a little unnerved at the intense stare from the older cape.

"You're going to have to explain to me how that works," Taylor said finally.

"I ask questions, and I get the answers in the form of a percent on how likely whatever the outcome of the question is will happen."

"Ah," Taylor noted in realization, "that's what you were saying when Kichi and I walked in on you and Gamamaru."

Taylor took a moment to marvel at Dinah's power. In a world of Alexandrias, Legends and Eidolons, it was almost amazing that powers could still surprise people.

"Well," Taylor spoke thinking aloud once Dinah's revelation had a chance to settle, "I don't know much about the cape scene outside of Brockton Bay, but, it sounds like you're a pretty powerful precog. From what I understand, most of those sorts of thinkers don't get their answers as clearly as yours."

Dinah nodded in unhappy agreement.

"Yes, it's why those men were after me."

Taylor could very well understand that. Dinah's power was ridiculous. She wasn't exactly an expert on capes, especially outside of her city, but, Taylor wouldn't be surprised if Dinah was one of the strongest precogs in the country, if not the world.

"Do you know who sent them?"

"No," Dinah responded with a frown, "and I can't ask now. I've used up too many questions."

"What do you mean?"

"Asking too many questions hurts. I get horrible migraines if I push my power too much. And I pushed it a lot today to find a safe way to escape. I won't be able to ask anything until tomorrow."

Taylor noticed that Dinah seemed less standoffish and wary now as she explained her power. At ease as she talked about something she was familiar with, momentarily distracted from the events of the day.

Taylor didn't quite sigh in relief, but, it was a near thing. She really wasn't cut out for this sort of thing. She was just glad that it hadn't gone badly so far.

"Right, well, do you mind staying here tonight? There's no way for whoever sent those guys after you to find you here. And then we can try to find out who's coming after you and how to stop them."

Dinah looked around her unsurely, fishing for a response.

It couldn't have been more obvious that staying here was the last thing she wanted if she'd screamed it from the mountain top.

Taylor sympathized. After what she'd gone through, Dinah probably wanted to go see her family and make sure that they were okay. To be surrounded by the comfort of family and familiarity. Not stay in a strange mountain, with giant toads and an unknown cape.

"Look," Taylor spoke, interrupting Dinah as she searched for a response. "I won't try to force you to stay here. But I want to help you and make sure that you're safe. The best way to do that would be to stay here where you're sheltered from anyone who would want to capture you, and we can figure out who sent those men after you."

Taylor was surprised at the serious look the smaller girl leveled at her.

Without breaking eye contact, the precog spoke in an even tone, only betrayed by the slightest of nervousness, "Chance that I find out Jiraiya is lying to me about trying to help me and keep me safe."

Taylor's brows shot up in surprise. She hadn't expected that.

Idly she wondered if Dinah needed to say the questions aloud or if she was doing it to make a point. It was reckless of the girl to do. If Taylor had been lying, there would be nothing that Dinah could have done to stop her anyway. Not as she was, and certainly not in Myoboku of all places.

"1.0437%," Dinah spoke in a monotone.

Luckily for her, Taylor hadn't been lying.

The consequences of her actions were immediately apparent. With a keening noise, Dinah clutched at her head as she experienced the most intense migraine of her life.

Reacting on instinct more than anything, Taylor reached for the girl and pulled her into her chest. Dinah whimpered as she fought off the initial surge from the migraine.

"I'm sorry," Dinah mumbled, voice smothered in the taller capes coat, her eyes tearing with pain. "I had to be sure."

"It's okay," Taylor soothed, awkwardly placing her arm around the precog. "It's understandable after the day you had," she said, flailing for the right thing to say and coming up mostly empty. "Don't worry about it," she finished lamely.

She really wasn't the person for this.

Taylor didn't know how long they sat there. Long enough for the awkwardness of holding the girl to fade and for Dinah to regain her composure from the sudden spike in head pain.

Though, if Taylor was any judge from the way Dinah was squinting as though even the meager light in the cavern pained her, the migraine wasn't going away anytime soon.

"Alright," Taylor said eventually, causing Dinah to spring away flushing in embarrassment as the younger girl realized the position she was in with a near stranger.

"Sorry," she said, not looking the toad summoner in the eye.

"It's fine," the older girl brushed off a little clumsily, "don't worry about it. But," she continued, "I want to go check on one of my toads. He was injured fighting Bushido," she explained. "Do you want to come and meet him?" Taylor offered. "He'd probably like some company."

Dinah looked around the large empty cavern they were in. It seemed suddenly a lot more foreboding with the prospect of being in it alone.

"I'll go with you."

Luckily for the awkward pair, it was a short walk to Gamatatsu.

Shima had taken one look at the youngest son of Gamabunta and immediately decided to take charge of the hapless toad's health herself. So the yellow toad was resting in an area nearby.

Walking into the room with the injured toad, Taylor was unsurprised to find that Gamakichi was still there.

She frowned behind her mask at the sight of thick bandages generously covering the yellow toad's chest. There were more bandages on his arm and back, but the punch landed to his chest by Bushido had been the worst of the injuries.

An armored fist covered in boiling steam packed with the power only a brute could manage would do that to a toad. Her nose wrinkled from the scent of bitter medicines and salves soaked into the bandages.

The yellow toad in question noticed their approach and waved cheerfully in greeting, heedless of his injured state.

"Hey Tay –," the toad's greeting was cut off by his brother's quick thinking. Gamakichi, at the sound of her name coming from Tatsu, had reacted with speed and covered his brother's mouth to stifle the excitable toad.

"Jiraiya when I wear the mask, remember, Tatsu?" Taylor asked doing her best not to let on through her tone the way her stomach had nearly jumped to her throat at the sound of her real name.

Sure, Dinah probably wasn't the worst person to learn her name, especially after she'd however unwittingly saved the younger girl. But it wasn't a good practice to let slide. All it would take was for Tatsu to slip in front of a villain for some very serious complications to arise. Complications she wasn't ready to deal with at all.

Taylor was extremely thankful for her partner's quick thinking and very carefully didn't look back to see Dinah's reaction to the near slip.

The yellow toad mumbled muffled words behind his brother's hand in answer.

Gamakichi carefully released his brother but kept a watchful air as Gamatatsu made to speak, ready to act should the yellow toad say something foolish.

"Sorry," Gamatatsu replied cheerily despite his injury and the recent manhandling from his brother, "I forgot you're like a secret ANBU."

Taylor didn't know what an ANBU was, but she was glad that Gamatatsu seemed to understand the situation at least.

"This is Dinah," Taylor introduced the quiet girl to the yellow toad who was looking at the other human inquisitively.

"Hello," she said cautiously.

Taylor supposed she could understand the girl's wariness, but if there ever was a toad where that wasn't needed, it was Gamatatsu.

"This is Gamatatsu," she explained to Dinah. "He's Gamakichi's brother. He helped me fight against Bushido; he's pretty good with his wind attacks."

At the reminder of his injuries, Taylor focused back onto the injured toad.

"I'm sorry that you were hurt Tatsu," she said solemnly. "I should never have let it happen." Her throat was tight as she thought back to the crunching sound of Bushido's fist impacting with her toad. "I –," she stopped unsure of what to say. Unable to express how she was feeling, how she wished it had gone differently.

"Sis, it's okay. We're ninja toad. Proud warriors for our family."

Taylor shot a look to meet the serious gaze of Gamatatsu to make sure she wasn't imagining things. She had never heard the yellow toad sound so serious before. Briefly, she had thought her hearing was playing tricks on her and it had been Gamakichi who'd spoken.

The intent stare from the normally blithe toad gave lie to that thought.

"Warriors get hurt in battle. It happens, and you can't prevent that," his voice was almost apologetic as he lightly reprimanded his summoner.

At his side, Gamakichi looked down to his brother with a hint of surprise that was instantly smothered by pride and affection.

Taylor stared at Gamatatsu unsure of what to say.

A bitter smile rose unbidden, hidden by her mask. Even now that she had superpowers herself, Taylor had wanted to believe that heroes could save everyone. That she could save everyone.

An image of her mother came unbidden. A sad knowing smile gracing a kind face.

Childish.

A small, young part of her cried a little at the bitter lesson given to her by the least likely of her toads.

"Okay," Taylor replied to the bandaged toad in resignation. "Okay," she repeated again, this time to herself as if in affirmation.

The serious look that adorned the yellow toad's face shifted to a more familiar squinty eyed goofy grin.

"Hey sis, when did you have a tadpole of your own?"

Taylor choked in shock.

Dinah squeaked in surprise.

Gamakichi laughed uproariously and did absolutely nothing to help the situation as it descended into a chaotic spree of denials and embarrassed reprimands from the humans.

The heavy air from the previous conversation waned into something lighter.

"She's not my tadpo -, I mean kid!" Taylor spluttered indignantly at the yellow toad even as she was praying for Kichi to pinch her and prove all of this was a weird dream.

Gamatatsu blinked in surprise at the vitriolic response from his summoner.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Ah," Gamatatsu spoke in understanding, "I get it! You're trying to trick me! I won't fall for it that easily sis," he gloated.

"I'm really not her daughter," Dinah chimed in tentatively.

The yellow toad's attention swerved over to the younger cape.

"You even got her to pretend along with you," Gamatatsu noted with awe, "you really are devious sis," he complimented the increasingly distraught summoner.

"She is too young and I am too old to be her daughter," the precog argued as the red-coated cape seemed to not be in a fit state to formulate a response.

"But you both have brown hair," Gamatatsu countered her logic with logic of his own, faulty as it was.

It took nearly 10 minutes for Taylor to convince Gamatatsu that Dinah wasn't her child. Even with Dinah joining in the conversation 5 minutes in after she'd gotten over her embarrassment and shyness.

"Okay," Gamatatsu finally agreed with the arguing humans, "the tadpole is someone else's tadpole, but she's your friend and she's having a sleepover with us."

Taylor sighed in relief and traded a look with Dinah, both agreeing to quit while they were ahead.

"Oh," Taylor spoke, remembering why she'd come now that the craziness had ended, "Tatsu, I brought some stuff for you while you recover."

Picking up the candy-laden bags from where she'd set them down when they'd entered, she moved to give them to the suddenly eager toad.

"I got a bunch of different kinds, so you can try them all and see what you like," she explained as the Toad tore into the gifts to see what he'd gotten. His expression lit up at the massive amount of candy that spilled out of the bags.

"You probably don't have these sort of candy here, so I –,"

Taylor was interrupted by the cheers from Gamatatsu. The yellow toad was already digging into his spoils, seemingly completely forgetting about his surroundings as he tore open a pack of gummy bears and threw them in his mouth, humming contentedly at the sweetness.

Taylor rolled her eyes at the predictable response from the yellow toad. Turning to face Dinah, she quirked a brow at the look of fascinated horror on the 12-year old's face as she stared at the yellow toad gorging on his candy.

Well, she supposed that was also a predictable response to seeing Gamatatsu get at candy for the first time.

"Hey," Taylor spoke, her voice seemingly snapping Dinah from the hypnotic daze she'd been experiencing from the spectacle before her, "he's going to be busy for a while. Why don't we let him be and go find a place to crash? It's been a long day for both of us."

Dinah nodded in agreement. Taylor was relieved to note that the previous wariness and caution which had pervaded the girl had faded to something like ease.

Shooting Gamakichi a wave as they left, she didn't bother doing the same for Tatsu. Taylor doubted the yellow toad was in a state to acknowledge it.

Thankfully for the humans, Taylor wasn't the first summoner of the toads. Not even the first to live on Myoboku. So, while Ma and Pa, as they preferred to be known, might still offer flies and other bugs as food for their guests, the idea of a bed wasn't a foreign concept.

Leading the young precog to one of the rooms which had a bed Taylor stood at the threshold of the room as Dinah tested out the surprisingly comfortable mattress.

Taylor made to leave once she was sure that the younger girl had settled in but paused before finding her own bed.

"I know today has been rough," she started hesitantly. "But I promise, I'll do my best to help you figure this out and keep you safe tomorrow," she ended the promise strongly.

Dinah paused in her examination of the bed to nod solemnly at the older cape.

"Thank you," she said solemnly, and for a wonder, the younger girl actually sounded somewhat reassured.

Maybe she wasn't so bad at this after all Taylor mused as she found her way to her own bed. She didn't even bother to remove her jacket as she fell onto the mattress and closed her eyes.

Further thought was pushed aside as she finally rested her tired eyes and the long day came to a close.

* * *

 **AN -** Okay, so that very long day which started with Taylor and Sabah cleaning up the base and ended with Dinah on Myoboku has finally concluded. Next chapter will have some exciting stuff as well. Dinah's situation will have some sort of resolution and of course the epic fallout from Lung's middle finger to the Empire and the capture of several villainous capes. Fun stuff ahead for Brockton Bay.

 **Edit 04/05/16 - Added onto the scene with Gamatatsu. People commented that the part where he mistook Dinah for Taylor's daughter felt like more tell than show, and I agreed so I added onto it.**


	22. Escalation 4-3

Escalation 4.3

It was early when Taylor woke. Or, she assumed it was at least. It wasn't easy to tell inside the mountain. She didn't bother turning her phone on to check. There wasn't a way to charge the device on Myoboku. She had a feeling that she would need it later, it was best not to waste the battery.

Taylor gave a nod of greeting toward Gamakichi at the sight of the toad awake and ready outside the entrance to her room. She didn't bother to guess how he had known she was awake. He had his ways, and if she asked all she would get was smug looks in return. Briefly, she wondered if the orange toad had slept at all before dismissing it. Gamakichi could take care of himself.

She padded through the cavern with near silence as she went to check on Dinah. The girl in question was strung out across her borrowed bed. Limbs haphazardly sprawled outward, mouth open wide from gentle snores.

Taylor nearly did a double take at the sight of the peaceful girl in the bed. She was nearly unrecognizable from the tense, traumatized thing her toad had rescued just yesterday.

A renewed determination came forth at the sight. They would figure out who was coming after the young precog, and how best to protect her. She would do her best to ensure that Dinah had more chances to be careless and unguarded, not a thing reserved solely for sleep.

A clawing at her stomach distracted the summoner from her resolutions as she was forcefully reminded that it had been nearly 24 hours since her last meal. Dinah probably hadn't eaten in almost as long, and Taylor doubted the younger girl was up for Shima's homemade meals. Not unless the girl had a thing for worms and flies amongst other delicacies that only a toad could enjoy.

Looks like she was going to have to make a brief trip home.

"Do you mind coming with me? I'd like to be back before she wakes up," she spoke quietly to Gamakichi.

The orange toad nodded agreeably, already guessing her intentions and placed a large hand on her thin shoulder. With a blast of smoke, the two had departed for Earth Bet once more.

* * *

Taylor didn't waste any time. With a goal in mind, the pair quickly made for the nearest open drive-thru and ordered breakfast. An amused smirk appeared at the sight of the obviously startled worker. She doubted that they'd ever served someone on a toad before. Food in hand, Taylor stopped long enough to grab a newspaper, and with another burst of smoke, the pair were back on Myoboku.

* * *

The summoner cape arrived back on the mountain to find their temporary charge still fast asleep. Deciding that Dinah had more than earned the right to sleep in after the night she'd had, Taylor settled down to wait with the food and grabbed the second reason for her morning excursion to Brockton Bay.

She figured at the very least her fight with the ABB would be in there. And if there was any luck at all, some news on whether or not the public was aware of Dinah's attempted kidnapping and current missing status. The precog was important to a lot of high profile people in the city. So Taylor was, at least, a little hopeful on that front.

Her mouth went dry as the front page of the newspaper greeted her with a picture of a large, snarling, humanoid dragon. She'd hoped that the drugs had made her hear the nurse at the hospital wrongly when the women had told her and Parian about Lung's attack on the Empire. The snarling face in the picture, unfortunately, meant that she'd heard correctly.

As she read through the article she idly wondered who the hell was crazy enough to get close enough to a ramped up Lung to get the picture. Taylor's brow raised the further she read. Whoever it was had to have been insane, or reckless in the extreme. Lung had apparently targeted an Empire storehouse. A majority of the Empire capes had gotten involved trying to defend their turf against the dragon man.

Then the Protectorate had gotten involved as well doing their best to focus on damage control. She shook her head in disbelief. Whoever took that photo was more likely to win a Darwin Award than a Pulitzer. That many capes involved in one battle was insane. Pretty much unheard of outside of an Endbringer attack. She was relieved to find out that nobody died, largely in part to the combined efforts of the Protectorate heroes and New Wave. Panacea was reported to have been on the scene making sure that the living people on the scene stayed that way. The hospital Parian had taken to her must have been where Panacea had set up to treat people after the fight had ended.

She took some solace in the fact that Victor and Othala had been captured. With her capture of Bushido, both of the two strongest gangs in Brockton had each taken a serious blow. Despite the circumstances from which it had come about, she took a deep satisfaction in their losses.

Bushido was a huge heavy hitter for the ABB. A forceful presence on the battlefield when Lung didn't deign to show his presence or when his prey ran before he could get too powerful. Victor, on the other hand, with his penchant for guns had a certain lethality to him from what she'd researched that could be pretty frightening.

But, it was Othala that was the largest blow done to the Empire when all was said and done. Capes that could heal on the scale that she did were uncommon. Capes that could do it fast and in the middle of a fight were even rarer. For every healer like Panacea or Othala, there were five more Remedys or Knockouts whose ability toward healing could range from moderately helpful to better to be seen by a hospital. That she could both heal and strengthen her allies in a variety of ways made her all the more valuable. The Empire would feel her loss.

As she read on, the article didn't seem to have an inkling as to the cause for Lung's apparently sudden and surprising attack on the E88 aside from speculation. Taylor, however, reading between the lines and given what information on the scene that she had learned through Parian could make an educated guess.

The first reason was obvious after her encounter with the other ABB capes. He was there to cause a very large, and very fiery distraction while his subordinates worked on taking out an unaffiliated and non-Asian tinker. Chemist in the Empire's hands would be a huge boon to the gang. Especially if she was correct on how versatile his powers were from seeing them in use. She didn't doubt for a moment that the ABB wouldn't want that to happen. That Bushido apparently had a personal beef with Chemist likely made it all the more appealing to the steam brute.

The other reason for the attack wasn't too hard to guess either if she thought about it a bit, even without Parian's knowledge. Lung and his gang had gotten their hands on three capes in a pretty short amount of time. Three pretty powerful capes at that. Now the Empire had to worry about not just Lung, who was a beyond serious threat just on his own, but also his gang which was acquiring enough parahuman muscle to rival the Empire. The ABB leader likely wanted to keep up the pressure. With Lung, they'd had the ability to match almost anyone provided he could ramp up enough, but now, the ABB didn't have to rely solely on their leader and they had enough capes to attack multiple areas at the same time.

Really, Taylor thought to herself as she neared the end of the article. It was pretty obvious. Especially since the Empire had tried to restore the balance of power by recruiting Parian before she'd put a halt to that. Not to mention the more frequent attacks on the Asian gang. The tension between the two had been ratcheting up for a while, to the point where it had even been noticeable at Winslow between her gang affiliated classmates.

Taylor paused in her reading. Maybe she was being too critical of the journalist she wondered. It was a strange thought, but, they didn't have her perspective. They might not know all of the things that she did with regards to the tensions between the gangs and the cape scene. It was a weird thought. That she, Taylor Hebert, front-running candidate for 'Most Bullied' in the yearbook had the sort of insight and experience into the cape scene and criminal underground of Brockton Bay that most reporters and journalists lacked.

Shaking off the distracting thoughts as pointless Taylor continued reading the article. She'd bet her left arm that Kaiser hadn't taken that lying down. A grimace of disgust crossed her features as further reading confirmed the thought. Kaiser hadn't wasted any time. And he'd apparently felt the need to attend the matter personally. Not even an hour after Lung had been beaten back by the Protectorate and New Wave, and the PRT had contained the scene, the Empire leader had led an attack deep into ABB territory.

According to the article, Kaiser had led a strike into the heart of the ABB territory and attacked a heavily fortified weapons stash. He hadn't made any public declaration or claimed credibility for the attack as he'd been known to sometimes do in the past, but the amount of metal blades growing from virtually every surface had made such an act superfluous.

According to police, every single weapon that the ABB had been protecting had been ruined, metal blades sprouting from them, making them unusable as anything other than a spiky projectile.

Worse, though, was what the blade manipulator had done to the ABB members at the stash house. It had been a slaughter. 15 men and women dead. All of them to a number had been brutally crucified, pinned to the wall by blades that had sprouted from its surface. Taylor clenched the article in disgust as she read on. According to early reports from the medical examiners, the Asian gang members had been alive when crucified left to hang until they died. Due to the location deep inside gang territory, and the amount of resources sent to contain the cape fight Lung had started, the authorities hadn't had a chance to make it in time to save any of the gang members.

Lung had surprised and wounded the Empire with his attack. He'd reminded the Bay of the depths of his power by fighting off the majority of the Empire capes before the Protectorate heroes arrived on scene, and he'd still escaped. Kaiser had answered with a brutal strike of his own, in the heart of Lung's territory, he'd slaughtered the dragon man's gang members. Taylor set the paper down for a moment as the article sunk in.

"What's wrong sis?"

She jumped in surprise at the voice. Taylor had been so absorbed that she had forgotten that Gamakichi was with her. Frowning apologetically at her partner, she explained the situation.

"What does this mean?" the toad asked grimly when she'd finished speaking.

"War," was her bleak answer. "Neither of them can back down from this. Not after what they've both done. Lung's reputation as the strongest around for a long time has been the main reason the ABB could even be called a rival to the Empire. Without him at the helm, there wouldn't even be a gang to rival the Nazis at all." Staring at the ceiling as though searching for answers, she continued, "And there's no way Kaiser can let such an attack slide. Especially not after it lost him two capes. He showed that with his attack. Brockton Bay is at war," she finished grimly.

It was a lot to absorb. The gangs had been at an uneasy stalemate for pretty much the entirety of her life. The Empire ran the downtown area. They controlled the majority of the guns, the dog fights, and the gambling. The ABB held down the docks and ran prostitution, protection rackets, and the occasional hits. The merchants skulked at the edges of the territory, dealt their drugs, and did their best not to piss off the two giants. There hadn't been a serious gang war in Brockton since the days of the Teeth and Marquis.

Gamakichi snorted, unimpressed.

"The toads are no strangers to war," was his dismissive answer.

Taylor stared at the orange toad incredulously. With a shake of her head, she cracked a little smile when she saw that he was serious. He was oversimplifying things she knew. Kichi probably didn't know how bad it could get with capes, especially with guns and bombs and other things common to earth bet that didn't seem so familiar to the toads of Myoboku.

But, something of his calm, easy acceptance of the situation, and the danger therein soothed her frayed nerves. She let herself relax in the feeling of his calm assuredness through their bond. If nothing else, his attitude was correct in one thing. Worrying would change nothing. She would just have to deal with it as it came, as best she was able.

Taylor put a wary eye back on the newspaper, as though it were a viper coiled to strike as opposed to harmless paper. If an imminent gang war had greeted her on the first page, Taylor wasn't sure that she was eager to find out what else it had in store for her. But, she really needed to find out if there was any information on Dinah's situation. And a not so small part of her was curious as to whether her big fight with the ABB capes had made the paper as well.

With a resigned exhale, Taylor proceeded to flip through the paper. She frowned as she chanced on a particular article.

"Looks like the fights weren't the only thing going on yesterday," she informed Kichi.

"Oh?" he asked curiously, looking down at the paper with the strange blocky writing, so very different from what he was used too.

"A cape group robbed a bank while we were fighting the ABB and the Protectorate was dealing with the Empire and Lung," she informed her partner. "Apparently they are known as the Travelers."

Kichi snorted at this, "Bit on the nose don't you think sis?"

She shrugged in response, "maybe, but they had perfect timing. I'm not sure whether the PRT would be willing to send the Wards after them, and with the Protectorate capes busy with Lung, there was nobody to stop them."

"Suspicious," the toad half asked and half stated.

"No way to know really, but we should get some info on them soon if they plan to stick around, I don't like surprises."

Gamakichi eyed his summoner as she read on. She still looked tired from the day before, but thankfully much better off than she'd been right after the battle. He'd been worried about her hand especially. That had been a very serious wound, and the toads weren't known for their healers. Thankfully she and Parian had run into a very good one at the hospital. That had been lucky in the extreme, and not something that they could or should be counting on. The toad frowned to himself as he thought back to the battle. The Painted one had been better than he'd assumed. A lot better.

She'd managed to perfectly coordinate her creatures and her blade strikes so that he never had a chance to retaliate. Any one or two of her concrete beasts on their own would have been little problem for him, but the way she'd timed their movements and strikes had kept him almost permanently off-balance throughout the entire fight. It was both impressive and worrying. Even with the injury that Taylor had received from the red one, he was glad that she hadn't faced against the beast master. He didn't think that his little sis was ready for an opponent with that sort of skill.

"Ah," Taylor spoke interrupting his musings. "Looks like our battle was mentioned after all."

Gamakichi perked up in interest at that and listened on as his battle partner spoke.

"Looks like it mostly focuses on Aegis though she said with a light frown. Barely even mentions Chemist at all, and not by name either. Listen to this, 'Aegis, with the aid of the independent cape Jiraiya…'"

Turning to face her frowning partner she smiled a little self-deprecatingly.

"At least, we could be of some assistance," she said dryly.

She did her best to shake off the dissatisfaction from the article's tone. Taylor hadn't gone to bat against the ABB capes for recognition or a newspaper article, she had done it to rescue Chemist. And she had managed to do that. She doubted Aegis had anything to do with it either. As a Protectorate affiliated cape and Ward captain, he was always going to be the crowd favorite. Despite her best efforts and sound logic, some bitterness remained.

The sound of human footsteps echoing through the cavern intruded on her dissatisfaction. Taylor swiftly wiped any negative emotion from her face and looked up, greeting a yawning Dinah with a smile and a wave.

"Hey, good morning. I brought you some food," she said to the half-awake girl, gesturing toward the cooling bag of breakfast food. "I wasn't sure what you would like," she continued as Dinah walked up to inspect the bag of food, "so I got a lot. But since I doubt you'd like what the toads are having, I hope I got something you liked."

"What do the toads eat?" was her distracted reply as she rustled through the bag of food.

Taylor hesitated, trying to find the best way to put it, "let's just say that most of their diet are a bit more… natural, than Gamatatsu and his candy," she said delicately.

Dinah made a moue of disgust at the implications behind that statement as she plopped down with a Styrofoam container filled with pancakes.

"Yeah," Taylor agreed as she went and grabbed a container with an omelet for herself while throwing the breakfast burrito to a curious Gamakichi.

The toad looked at the wrap in his hand suspiciously before taking a tentative bite. His expression immediately brightened and with a quick thanks to his summoner, he dove into the new food.

"So what were you reading," the younger cape asked around a mouthful of blueberry pancakes.

"The paper," she answered, careful not to frown at the reminder of her article. "Lung made a big attack," she informed the previously unaware girl who was now listening intently. Everyone knew who Lung was in the Bay, from the cape geeks to the people who'd rather have nothing to do with them. "And they covered my fight with the ABB capes. Not to mention, a bank robbery by some nomadic cape group."

Taylor gave a sympathetic nod to the expression of sheer disbelief on the younger brunette's face.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Two large-scale cape fights, an attempted kidnapping, and a bank robbery all in one day." She shook her head, even having been a part of two of those events, it was still a bit much. "I know we're in one of the most active cape spots in the country, but even for Brockton this is a bit much."

They continued eating in silence for a while as Dinah did her best to absorb all that had gone on during her bid for freedom. As they finished their meal, movement from the older cape drew her eye.

"Here," Taylor spoke, handing Dinah the paper, "the main reason I got this was to see if they mentioned you at all. Try to find out what the public knows about your situation. Why don't you look through that while I take care of the mess," she said as she got up and made to collect the garbage.

Taylor went about gathering up the garbage as Dinah perused the paper. The thought of littering on a place so purely natural as Mount Myoboku seemed wrong to her in so many ways. She had almost finished when a strangled sob from the other human present interrupted her.

Alarmed, she turned to find Dinah clutching the newspaper in a white-knuckled grip. The young girl's face had gone white and tears welled in her eyes before dripping onto the paper in her hands. Taylor had a brief panic at the sight.

What made her cry, and what was she supposed to do with a crying kid?

Taylor had a sinking feeling in her gut even as she hurried over to the distraught child.

"What's wrong?"

Dinah opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was another sob. Unable to speak, she mutely handed the newspaper to the toad summoner.

It took a second to realize what she was reading, but when she did, Taylor set the paper down and did her best to get over her own insecurities as she gave the younger girl a hug.

"I'm so sorry."

The younger girl only cried in response.

Taylor didn't blame her. She had just found out that she was an orphan.

The mercenaries that had gone after Dinah hadn't spared her parents. The article had a message from a furious and grieving Mayor Christner pleading for any information on Dinah's whereabouts as well as a large reward for any useful information leading to her safe return. Taylor had been right about the news paying attention to her disappearance, even with the cape fights that had rocked the city. But it hadn't been in the way she'd hoped. She looked down when she felt a shifting as Dinah moved to look up at the older cape.

Eyes rimmed red and nose dripping she spoke, her voice thick with grief and pain, "I want to find who did this. And I want them to pay."

Taylor did her best not to think of how unnerving it was to hear those words in that tone of voice from someone so young as she nodded in agreement.

"Let's get started then."

The two capes and the orange toad approached the situation with a grim determination. Kaiser was at the top of the list of Taylor's admittedly limited pool of suspects. She could easily imagine that the Empire would love to get their hands on a parahuman with a power as useful as Dinah's.

And looking at the other two major gangs in Brockton, she doubted that the Merchants had the reach to get a team of soldiers armed with tinker-tech rifles. Whereas the ABB, she doubted they'd be interested in a white girl, powers or no.

Kaiser was one of the only capes in the city she could think of with the pull and the resources to try what had been done to Dinah. Their clash with the ABB had could have been a distraction for the kidnapping. But, that made little sense when it appeared Lung was the person who'd initiated the attack.

The other strong possibility in the pool of local villains was Coil, both because so little was known about him, and from what little she'd been able to find out when researching the local scene, was fond of using intermediaries. Nobody seemed to have much of an idea of anything involving with the cape aside from the fact that he rarely got his own hands dirty. From his power to his base, to his resources. Coil was a mystery.

None if it answered the one question Taylor had no idea where to start with.

How did the kidnapper know Dinah was a parahuman in the first place?

She frowned when Dinah cleared Kaiser of any responsibility, at least for this with a single question. There went that idea. They hit a snag when she asked the girl about Coil. Dinah didn't recognize the name.

"I can't do it. Why can't I do it?" She asked, voice raw and frustrated.

"A limitation to your power?" Taylor proposed, thinking aloud. "Maybe you need more details about who they are? But," she continued aloud, already dismissing her previous though, "you didn't really know anything about me and you were able to ask about me just from seeing me walking in on your meeting with Gamamaru. Maybe you need a visual cue?" She speculated.

"Can we go to somewhere where I can see one then?" the precog demanded impatiently.

Taylor frowned at the tone but decided to say nothing. She was understandably distraught still.

"You should stay here," she said as she got up with a stretch. "I'll take Kichi and do some quick research. The established capes have been active in the Bay for a long while now. People will have pictures of them online."

Dinah began to protest, already getting up to follow the older cape, "What?! No! I have to hel –," she stopped at a raised hand from Jiraiya.

"I know," the older cape continued, overriding the younger girl's protest, "you want to do something. To be distracted, and not think about what you're feeling right now."

Part of Dinah wanted to rage at her rescuer.

How could she know what she was feeling? Did she just lose both of her parents? Had she almost been kidnapped by some unknown psycho?

The emotions were overwhelming to the point where she felt claustrophobic, almost choking with vitriol. The only thing that stopped her from unleashing these emotions at the summoner was the far off tone in her red-coated guardian's voice. Her gaze was distant, looking over Dinah's shoulder at something only she could see, lost in some memory.

"I know that you want to be able to do something. That you need to be able to do anything. To somehow contribute, to make what happened less bad somehow. To be able to do more than sit there, paralyzed, missing them." Her voice and expression were soft and reminiscent as she turned to face the newly orphaned cape, "but you have to be safe. You are what's left of your parents. It hurts, and it will never stop hurting. But eventually the pain will dull, the stabbing hurt will fade to an ache. "

Dinah stared at the taller cape entranced. This was more than she'd heard the older cape say since they'd met.

"And when you remember them, it won't be that they died, it will be how they hugged you when you scraped your knee. The way they whispered goodnight when they tucked you in. It will be of the good things that they did for you because they loved you. Cherished you."

Dinah stood paralyzed under the older capes intense stare.

"But for that to happen, you need to live. So, stay here where it's safe. At least, until we figure out who's behind this and have a plan of action."

Dinah could do nothing other than nod, pinned under the gaze of the taller cape.

She barely blinked as the summoner gave a nod and then departed in a puff of smoke with her toad. Dinah just stared at the cavern wall, buffeted by emotion.

Her parents were dead.

It didn't seem real. She didn't really process anything. Just sitting there, staring at the wall. Lost in the events from the past 24 hours that had irrevocably shaken her entire world. Time was a distant, foreign concept. And so, when the older cape returned with her signature blast of smoke, Dinah had no idea long she sat there.

Dinah didn't feel like she'd made any progress, reached any sort of equilibrium. But when she met the eyes of the toad summoner, it was with dry eyes and a renewed sense of determination.

"Sorry we took so long. Coil is surprisingly hard to get a picture on, given how long he's been active. Actually, even how long he's been around is debated. I grabbed pictures of the Merchants. As well as other Empire capes to see if any of them planned the attack without Kaiser's knowledge. But, I don't think we'll need it."

"How come?" Dinah was relieved to find her voice was steady if a bit scratchy.

"Because, while no one seems to know much about Coil himself, he apparently has a habit of employing non-powered soldiers armed with tinker-tech weaponry," the older cape answered grimly.

Dinah stared at the picture the older cape presented to her. A somewhat blurry photo of a skeletal man clad in a skintight black uniform that served to emphasize his gaunt figure. The only concession to color on his costume was the bone white stencil of a snake that climbed his body, its head coming to a rest on the man's forehead.

Even as she asked the question in her mind, she knew the answer. Dinah had never felt hate before, but the sight of that man in the picture inspired the emotion inside of her with an intense fierceness.

Would this man try to capture her?

An endless, impossibly large and complex mosaic shifted in her mind. Great shapes and images of nearly limitless possibilities shifted through her head in ways she shouldn't be able to comprehend, yet somehow did with an instinctive ease.

96.476%.

The number echoed through her consciousness with a damning finality.

"It's him," she said to the older cape. Her voice sounded so similar to the monotone that she'd spit out percentages with that Taylor almost thought she'd misheard the younger girl at first.

Taylor frowned at the confirmation, rocking back on her heels as she thought.

That was both good and bad, as far as anything about this situation could be called good. It was good that they knew who their adversary was. But the fact was, they just didn't know much about Coil. From his power to his resources. It would make planning around him tricky at best.

But, first things first. She couldn't work around Coil until she knew what Dinah wanted to do. The girl in question was staring at the picture of Coil that she'd printed from the PHO wiki on Brockton villains. Taylor couldn't tell if she was looking at the photo to permanently etch it into her mind or in an attempt to light it on fire from her glare.

"I assume you don't want to stay on Myoboku for however long it takes to hunt down Coil," she spoke, interrupting the younger girl's brooding, "do you have any idea what you want to do?"

"What?" was the distracted reply as the younger brunette tore her gaze from the photograph of her parent's murderer. "Oh," she said in realization as she seemed to catch up to what the older cape had asked her.

"Well?" Taylor prompted.

"Yes, I want to join the Wards."

Huh.

Taylor wondered why Dinah's answer came as a surprise. It made sense in a lot of ways. The PRT could afford her probably the best protection, would have a lot of resources and information, would probably make good use of Dinah's skillset, and had a group of other young parahumans under their command. It fit together very neatly, yet, Taylor hadn't even considered it when she was trying to imagine what Dinah would want to do. She supposed that just because the Wards hadn't been her choice, didn't mean it couldn't be someone else's.

Dinah rushed to explain, taking the other cape's silence as skepticism.

"They can help me find Coil and protect me from him too. I would be able to see Uncle Roy and he wouldn't be in danger. And," she paused before continuing in a whisper, "I know one of the heroes."

Taylor raised a hand to stop the girl before she could give away anything else.

"It's fine," she placated the younger girl, "and the Wards have a lot of good things going for it. I kind of know Clockblocker, and I've met Vista and Aegis before too. They seemed like good people."

Dinah settled back down once she realized that the older cape wasn't just dismissing her plan out of hand.

"I don't know much of how the Ward's system works, but, I'm sure they'll be able to protect you. They don't really have a choice with the Mayor as your uncle," Taylor said reasonably. Clapping her hands together, she continued, "So, we have a plan. Now we just need to make sure Coil won't be able to get his hands on you while you are with them."

"Right," Dinah said in agreement, closing her eyes as she thought of her question.

"39.986402%" the younger girl whispered, shock coloring the normal force monotone. Confused and scared she looked to the other cape, "40% chance I'm safe from Coil as a Ward."

"Why?" Taylor asked surprised, before waving the question off before Dinah could answer. "Sorry, I know you can't answer that."

Running her hand through her hair she thought furiously over how Coil would be able to hurt or kidnap Dinah while she was a member of the Wards. He had somehow known that Dinah was both a cape and her schedule, as well as managing to strike in the midst of the largest amount of cape activity the city had seen in well over a decade. Now, he apparently also had the means to spirit away a Ward right from under the nose of the PRT.

Who the hell was this guy?

"You're both thinking about this all wrong," Kichi interrupted their brooding.

Taylor frowned sympathetically as Dinah practically jumped to her feet in surprise. Gamakichi could be surprisingly quiet for such a large and normally mouthy toad. He'd gotten her doing the same thing too many times to count.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," the orange toad said, eyeing the photograph of the villain with distaste, "you're both so busy wondering at how impossible it is that the snake could do all of this, that you're missing the obvious. You have to look underneath the underneath."

The two humans exchanged a confused glance before directing a questioning gaze at the older toad.

"What do they teach kids in school nowadays?" said toad asked aloud, staring at the ceiling as though searching for patience. Gamakichi sighed in exasperation, "Alright, look. Your PRT is one of the most guarded and well-defended place in the city. Teeming with superheroes and special agents correct?"

At the nod of agreement from the two capes in the room, he continued.

"So, how could he steal someone from there? What does he need?"

"Information?" Dinah half asked tentatively.

Gamakichi nodded in approval, "Yes, but not just information. He would need the ability to act on it. And as we've already established, he can't just knock down the front door, so….?"

"He's got men on the inside," Taylor said in exasperated realization. It seemed so obvious in hindsight. She should have realized it right away.

Gamakichi gave a smug nod in agreement as Dinah stared at the orange toad with something close to awe, "We'll make a ninja out of you yet," he confirmed.

"Right," Taylor spoke getting back to the task at hand. "Dinah, can you adjust your question. Add in informing the Director and whoever she decides is necessary what we just found out."

Dinah nodded in determination, concentrating on their new question.

"70.3408%."

"Better," Taylor noted, unsatisfied. "Do you think that the PRT, with access to your power and the problem at hand, can get the numbers up even higher with more refined questions?" she asked the younger girl.

Dinah nodded unsurely, "I think so."

The toad summoner made a face at her uncertain response.

"It's something you have to be sure of. I can't stop you, or, I won't. This is your life on the line, you have to be sure that this is a risk that you're willing to take.

To the younger girl's credit, she didn't flinch at the danger.

"I want this."

"Okay," Taylor sighed in resignation.

A large part of her just wanted to keep the younger girl safely in Mount Myoboku, away from the mess that Brockton Bay was turning into. She didn't need Gamakichi's sympathetic but firm presence through their bond to know that it wasn't an option. She couldn't save a girl from kidnapping by kidnapping her. It was wrong on a lot of levels. And, she wouldn't keep the girl from her remaining family. Not after what had been done to her parents.

"The PRT will do their best to keep you safe I'm sure," the red-coated cape said. "But, you won't have to rely solely on them."

Bringing her hands up to her chest, she flickered them through familiar signs in front of a curious Dinah. With a slap of her palm on the rock, another toad entered the cavern.

A small toad emerged from the smoke. At the size of a small cat, the toad was one of her smaller ones. With shocking pink skin and a white underside to compliment his yellow eyes, he was one of the more unique in appearance as well.

"Gamatama reporting for duty sir!" The toad spoke, voice high with youth and nervousness as he gave a crisp salute to his human summoner.

* * *

 **AB -** This chapter was starting to get very long so I made the decision to split it so that I could get some content out for you guys. Hopefully this means the next chapter should come out a little quicker if it's any consolation. As always, all thoughts, opinions, questions, etc... are welcome. I hope you guys like it.


	23. Escalation 4-4

Escalation 4.4

Taylor spared a smile for the eager young toad as she spoke to the younger cape, "As he said, this is Gamatama. He's reaching the end of his tadpole cycle. Toads have to prove themselves before they are accepted into adulthood, either through mastery of a special toad technique or through accomplishing an important mission on behalf of the family."

The pink toad impossibly somehow managed to stand even straighter as his summoner spoke.

"You're his mission," Taylor told the other girl bluntly when she still looked confused.

Dinah looked at Taylor in surprise before shifting a dubious gaze to the small toad who was practically preening from the terms of his mission.

"Don't judge him by his size," the older cape admonished the younger girl mildly, "he's more capable than he seems. More importantly, he doesn't look dangerous. He's also good at moving around unnoticed when he has too. Gamatama will be your final line of defense against Coil. If anyone goes after you, he can find help, defend you if need be, or if there is no other option, transport you safely back to Myoboku."

The precog looked at the small toad again with a more appraising eye, as though trying to find the hidden depths hinted at from his summoner. The toad in question had dropped his salute and met the young girls stare squarely.

"I will do everything in my power to protect you. My skills and life are at your service Miss," the pink toad vowed seriously.

Dinah for her part looked a little flabbergasted at the sincere offer. Looking a little unsurely at the other cape only to receive no help she turned back to the little toad and offered a little smile.

"I hope it won't come to that," she said sincerely with a timid smile, "and please, call me Dinah. You don't have to call me Miss."

"Of course Miss Dinah," the toad agreed immediately completely missing the point and ignoring the face from the younger parahuman.

"Tama," snapping to attention at his summoner's voice, he looked up at the taller human.

"Yes?"

"A very bad man is after your charge. We don't know much about him. Only that he's intelligent and resourceful, and the he's likely to come after her again. You will make sure that he won't succeed," the red cape said as she informed her toad of his mission.

"Understood!"

"Here is a picture of him. He seems to have a habit of sending in his minions and cat's paws as opposed to getting his own hands dirty. If we learn more about him, we'll be sure to keep you updated."

The pink toad grabbed the picture and proceeded to burn the image it into memory.

Taylor nodded in satisfaction as she moved over to speak with her partner, leaving the two to get to know each other.

"You think he's ready for this?"

"He wants to prove himself," Taylor answered the larger toad. "And your father seems to think that he's ready, or he wouldn't have recommended him."

Gamakichi grunted noncommittedly at that as he eyed the toad get to know his new charge.

"He's young," was all he could say in answer to that, not willing to openly defy his father's endorsement.

Taylor felt a little smile threaten to quirk at the edge of her lips as Dinah laughed at something the pink toad said.

"So were you once I'm sure, don't think Ma and Pa haven't told me some of the crap you gave Naruto," Taylor teased gently.

Gamakichi rolled his eyes and grumbled a little as he fished out a cigarette in lieu of a proper response.

"You're the boss," he mumbled around the cancer stick as he lit it up.

"Don't be mad, we can get you some snacks later," she ribbed her disgruntled toad who rolled his eyes in response and proceeded to ignore his summoner in favor of his cigarette.

She patted the toads shoulder as she made her way back to the younger pair.

"Are you okay with the idea of working with Gamatama?"

Dinah looked up from her conversation with a little smile on her features.

"Yes," she confirmed with a nod.

Taylor smirked at Gamatama who was celebrating with a fist pump behind his human. She knew from what Bunta had said that he'd been trying to find something suitable to prove himself ready for adulthood in the clan for a while. She was glad to be able to help him, even if she wished it had been under different circumstances.

And she was also glad that Dinah was smiling a little more. It wouldn't last. Eventually, something seemingly innocent or innocuous would remind her of her parents, and she'd cry once more. Experience had taught Taylor as much. But, at least for now, the young precog had a smile on her face.

"Ready to become a ward?"

The young cape, no, Taylor corrected herself, the young hero gave a determined nod in answer.

"Alright then," she spoke as Gamakichi joined the three of them, "let's go home."

And with a blast of smoke, the two toads transported their respective humans back to Brockton Bay.

* * *

 **Emily Piggot (During the Debrief, 1 Day After the Fight)**

"And so, according to their previous MO, it is likely that the Travelers will remain in the area for a minimum of a few weeks before they attempt to move on to a different city," Armsmaster said.

Just what she needed, another villain team taking refuge in Brockton Bay. A fairly powerful and unusually effective team as well if Armsmaster's report was to be believed, and she had no doubt that the man had been thorough.

"Do you think it's likely that they involve themselves in the conflict between the Empire and the ABB?" Miss Militia questioned.

Piggot's lips twisted in disgust. The fight had been a disaster, but what Kaiser had done to those gang members was grotesque. She wouldn't lose any sleep over fewer gangbangers in her city, but capes preying on normal people never failed to piss her off.

Colin frowned as he considered his answer, no doubt simultaneously reviewing pertinent information from behind his tinker-tech helmet. "Doubtful," he said eventually, "we can't rule it out, but in the past, the Travelers' tendency seems to be to avoid contact with local villains unless necessary."

That was something she supposed, though she hesitated to call it a silver lining. Piggot wouldn't be happy till they were locked up and out of her city.

"Alright," the director spoke, regaining the attention of the room, "I believe that concl –," the PRT director was interrupted by what sounded like music from an old arcade game.

Every eye in the room immediately traced the source of the sound to a sheepish Clockblocker.

"Is that the theme song for Battletoads?" Kid Win asked incredulously, his voice verging on awe at the time stopper's audacity.

"It's my ringtone for Jiraiya," the clock themed hero snapped back defensively, pointedly ignoring the snickering from Vista as he fumbled for his phone.

"Answer it."

"Wha –?"

"Answer the phone," the director repeated herself, ignoring the nonplused and dubious looks shot in her direction. "I would like to know if she has any information about what happened last night, and since you felt the need to keep your phone on during a meeting then you must consider it to be a matter of considerable importance," she finished evenly, her displeasure obvious.

Clockblocker looked unsurely at Aegis who could only shrug helplessly and answered his phone, cutting off the arcade music.

"Hey Jiraiya, we were just talking about yo –," the time stopper began with false joviality before cutting off.

"What?"

Confused and irritated looks were shared between the heroes in the room at only hearing half of the information.

"I see," Clockblocker said in an odd tone, "do you mind if I put you on speakerphone so that you can repeat that?" He asked. "Because you called during the middle of a mission debrief, all of the higher-ups are in the room right now, and they need to know this," he explained to the independent hero.

Piggot raised an eyebrow at that as curious looks were exchanged between the protectorate heroes and Wards.

"I forgot to turn it off okay!" Clockblocker responded heatedly to Jiraiya, "No, I don't usually have my phone on during important meetings, is this really what you want to focus on? He asked disbelieving, once again pointedly ignoring a snickering Vista.

Grumbling about unfairness and being ganged up on, the clock themed hero put his phone onto speaker and placed it in the middle of the table.

"Now tell them what you told me," he ordered the cape on the other end of the line petulantly.

"Is everyone in this room trusted?" the independent hero asked, voice slightly distorted as it played for the room.

Despite herself, Piggot's interest was piqued. What could this girl know that she thought that she needed to ask something like that?

Ignoring the confused and interested looks and murmurs being exchanged between the capes, she addressed the nonaffiliated hero, "Everyone in this room is trustworthy."

"Who is this?"

"You are speaking to Director Emily Piggot of the PRT."

A long pause came from the other line. Perhaps she hadn't expected that.

"What information do you have that requires you to ask such a question," the Director demanded. She was curious to get the measure of this new hero, but she refused to be jerked around.

"I have Dinah Alcott."

The words caused an immediate uproar.

The murder of the Mayor's sister and brother-in-law and the subsequent disappearance of his niece had been a very large and unpleasant surprise. Pressure was already being applied at all levels to get the girl safely returned and the perpetrator brought to justice.

"I will need you to explain that statement," the Director spoke slowly with narrowed eyes, ignoring the flurry around her, "and I warn you, this explanation better be very, very good."

"I rescued her after the battle against the ABB capes," the hero replied.

Piggot was reluctantly impressed at how unfazed the cape sounded after her warning. Her capes could take some lessons from this girl.

"Rescued her from what," she asked with thinning patience. The Mayor's niece needed to be found and recovered as soon as possible. A furious Mayor was not a good thing when one worked within the government. "And is she unharmed?"

"Mercenaries," was the prompt reply, "armed with tinker-tech weaponry," she finished.

And the other foot dropped.

Armsmaster frowned at the information as Miss Militia traded a frown with Battery. The significance of that was not lost on any of the veteran heroes. The Wards, aside from a frowning Aegis and Gallant looked mostly confused.

"I see you understand what this means," Jiraiya continued after the silence dragged on.

"What possible use could Coil have for the Mayor's niece," Piggot demanded.

"She's a cape. A thinker to be precise, a powerful one too."

That was a surprise, the director mused to herself. Assuming that Jiraiya was on the up, it explained why the independent cape had come to them as opposed to just going straight to the Mayor.

"And what does this information have to do with whether or not the people in this room are trustworthy?" Miss Militia interjected.

"Miss Militia," the voice on the other end acknowledged. "I'm sorry that our next meeting had to be under these terms. And the trustworthiness of the people overhearing this conversation matters," the voice continued, "because Dinah has expressed an interest in being a Ward. It matters, because Coil will try to get Dinah again. It matters," the hero continued, "because Coil has agents within the PRT," she finished, her voice never faltering from its careful, deliberate, delivery as Jiraiya dropped her bombshell.

Immediate protest greeted the declaration.

Piggot ignored the chaos as she thought about what Jiraiya had said. How could Jiraiya have known about Coil's moles? And how could she know that he would be brazen enough to try and kidnap the girl when she was a Ward?

"What is the girl's power?" Her voice cut through the commotion like a knife as order was restored to the room, the occupants waiting for the hero's response.

"She is a thinker, a precog," was the reply.

The director frowned thoughtfully as she absorbed the news. It answered some questions. And the girl was likely a powerful precog if Coil was willing to step out of his usual MO and expose himself in the manner that he did. Even willing to attack a civilian family. Depending on how powerful the girl was, and how her precognitive ability expressed itself, how the master cape got information on Coil became easier to believe. It also made getting the girl back safely even more important.

"Dinah has said that she wants to be a Ward. She wants Coil taken down, and she wants to see her remaining family." Jiraiya spoke, interrupting the director's train of thought. "But, I need a promise that she will be safe in your hands. That you will do something about Coil and what he did to Dinah and her family," Jiraiya said firmly.

The stern demand from the cape made it almost possible to forget that she was likely still a teenager. Piggot couldn't remember the last time someone spoke to her in that way.

"No one will harm her Jiraiya," the reassurance came from the Miss Militia, a core of steel in her tone that might have surprised some people who weren't aware of her youth.

There was another long pause on the other end as Jiraiya likely consulted with Dinah.

"She would like to meet you, and go over everything."

"Very well," Piggot responded, retaking control, "how soon can you get here?" There was no chance that something as important as this would be happening somewhere else. Not when she stood to not only recover the Mayor's niece but, also gain a potentially powerful thinker at the same time.

"5 minutes," the hero responded and hung up the phone with a click.

She raised her eyebrow at that and mentally reevaluated the girl even as she made plans to address the unexpectedly small window of time. The independent hero may have a tendency to get in over her head when it came to cape fights, but the conversation had shown her to be surprisingly controlled emotionally. And setting the meeting so soon ensured that they wouldn't have little time to prepare anything. A ruthless way to keep them off balanced. A part of her approved, but, she'd been playing this game for far too long for some rookie hero to best her.

"Alright, everyone dismissed. Armsmaster, Miss Militia stay behind. Clockblocker and Vista as well. Everyone else, go, get some work done."

There was some grumbling from the Wards over not getting to meet a potential member right away but the room was cleared with only the mentioned heroes remaining.

"Was she lying?"

"It's less accurate over the phone, I cannot get all the readings that help with a prediction that I can get when we meet her in person, but she seemed to be telling the truth," was the prompt reply from Armsmaster.

"Why Clock and me?" Was Vista's question once the tinker had stopped speaking.

"You and Clockblocker have both met Jiraiya before," Miss Militia explained as Piggot busied herself with a call to the Mayor. "And Dinah is only slightly younger than you, so it might help set her at ease to see you, as well as give her meet two new team members. And remember," Militia continued, "she just lost her parents. So be kind to her."

"Understood," was Vista's serious reply. "Though, I'm glad to finally have another girl on the team," she continued with a satisfied smile.

Clockblocker raised a finger to counter that, but, Vista cut him off before he could even speak.

"Shadow Stalker doesn't count."

"Fair enough," the time stopper conceded easily while lowering his finger.

"Let's go," Piggot ordered as she made her way to the door, phone conversation finished.

The heroes filed behind her, Clockblocker giving a sarcastic salute and receiving a less sarcastic head slap from Vista as they left to meet Jiraiya and a new Ward.

* * *

 **Taylor**

As she stood outside of the PRT building, she wondered if it was mean to be imposing. It was a large monolith of a building. A towering monster of shiny steel and modern glass.

"You ready for this?"

Dinah's answer was a simple nod, her focus never leaving the building in front of her. Taylor didn't comment on the way her arms tightened their hold on Gamatama.

This wasn't going to be dangerous, and the PRT would likely go out of their way to make this as smooth as possible. Yet, it all somehow felt more nerve-wracking than diving headfirst into a battle against 4 capes at once.

"I gave Gamatama my number," she informed the younger girl, "it's my understanding that Wards are issued a cellphone. Feel free to call me if you want, I use it for all cape stuff, so don't go giving it out okay."

Dinah gave another nod in understanding at the instruction. Some of the tension eased from her small shoulders at the news.

"Why am I here?"

"Show of strength," she answered with a shrug, and, she added in her own mind, it was reassuring to have Kichi at her back. "Just stand behind us and look generally menacing," she instructed dryly.

"You give me the best jobs sis," the hulking toad commented with an anticipating grin. Blithely overlooking, or more likely, ignoring the sarcasm that laced the order from his summoner as he followed the humans into the building.

They work quickly was Taylor's first thought as they entered the building and were greeted by an almost startling lack of reaction to the sight of a cape and a giant toad walking into the building. There were some stares from the visitors and civilians, but the guards and PRT employees didn't bat an eye at the odd group. The director had informed them of what to expect.

As if to confirm her theory, a PRT guard broke off from his post and approached the group.

"Jiraiya," he greeted the cape by name with a nod, "we have a meeting room set aside for you. Please follow me." His piece said, the guard made a crisp turnaround and led the motley group to the room in question.

Taylor traded a look with Kichi before following after the guard, Dinah hugging Gamatama to her chest as she walked between the two. They worked very quickly. Taylor approved, she hoped that they approached the issue of Coil with the same urgency. She thanked the PRT officer as they arrived at the room set aside for their meeting and walked in. Taylor was greeted with a roomful of people. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the two protectorate heroes in the room.

Miss Militia was as she remembered her. Wearing a military uniform that shaped to her form in a way that Taylor doubted any official military uniform did and an American flag bandana. She somehow managed to convey both welcoming and focused competence.

Standing off the side was Armsmaster. Just a month or two ago, before she'd gotten her powers, and before she'd fought the fights that she had, Taylor would have had a hard time speaking in his presence. He cut an impressive figure with his blue futuristic armor and square jaw. There was no sign of his trademarked halberd, but Taylor didn't doubt that he could have it out in an instant if the need arose.

She returned a wave from Vista as she belatedly noted the other occupants of the room. Vista and Clockblocker were there, likely to meet a new teammate, and sitting at a table was a singularly large Caucasian woman, her hair cut in a rather unfortunate blonde bob cut. Taylor wondered how she missed the woman at first. The woman, who she assumed was the director, was a rather large woman.

"Have a seat, thank you for meeting with us promptly," the woman in question spoke. The banal greeting clashed with her air of intense seriousness. "I am Director Emily Piggot, and I am sure you recognize my associates. Miss Alcott, I would like to start this off by saying that I am glad you are alright," she spoke, directing her words to the young girl in question as the humans sat down while Gamakichi loomed behind them. The seats hadn't exactly been designed with giant toads in mind.

Dinah just nodded in reply. She looked especially small in the large chair with Gamatama sitting on her lap who was keeping a watchful eye on the room's occupants.

"Please run us through what happened," the Director spoke to the older cape, her tone making it clear that it was more of an order than a request. Taylor eyed the woman at that but didn't make an issue of it. The director was probably a busy woman with a lot on her plate, and besides, this wasn't about Taylor anyway.

With that in mind, she told the Director and assorted heroes of what happened. How the ABB had made a move against Chemist. How she had taken exception to that fact and worked along with him to stop the ABB from killing the tinker. And how, with the aid of Aegis, they were able to capture Bushido.

"And how does Miss Alcott come into the picture?"

"One of the toad's I used came across her as she was running away from the mercenaries."

"So you saved her with your toads that somehow possess the ability to teleport?"

Taylor frowned at the question as she eyed the Director thoughtfully. She supposed that was technically accurate, though the way she'd really kept Dinah safe was by bringing her to Mount Myoboku, which as far as Taylor was aware, only she could access. But, Myoboku was an issue that Taylor was not looking to bring up.

"Yes," she confirmed. "3 of my toads carry a shared dimension in their stomachs. They can freely carry and exchange the contents of their dimension between each other."

The two Wards shared a strange look at the description of the odd ability as Piggot continued her questioning.

"And that would be how you were able to escape with Bushido at the end of the fight?"

Taylor nodded in confirmation.

"How were you able to confirm that Coil was the one behind the kidnapping?" Armsmaster spoke, breaking into the conversation.

Taylor's focus shifted from the Director to the hero beside her. It said something about the Director's force of presence that she'd almost forgotten that the woman was flanked by one of the best tinkers in the country and Miss Militia, one of the first heroes to graduate the Wards program to become a full-fledged hero.

"I didn't," she answered the Protectorate leader, "Dinah is the one the one who found out it was Coil."

"What exactly is Dinah's power?"

"Miss Dinah is in this room," the small pink toad piped up from his place on the girl in question's lap, "perhaps she's is best suited to answer questions about her own power," Gamatama continued, unfazed at the stares directed his way from the heroes in the room.

"And you would be," the Director spoke slowly, clearly not pleased at the interruption.

"Gamatama," the pink toad answered promptly, "I am Dinah's friend."

Director Piggot's face twisted into something unkind at the claim from the sentient toad before her.

Taylor started to frown and she was peripherally aware of the way Kichi had stopped his movement and gave his full attention to what the humans were saying. Taylor wasn't sure what was going on, but she was suddenly sure that Piggot wasn't happy to have to speak with her toads. The toad summoner could take a lot of things, her prior school life had ensured that she'd learned to keep a handle on her emotions if nothing else. But a slight against her toads, even peripherally, wasn't something that she was willing to overlook.

Even as the thought crossed her mind, Taylor was self-aware enough to know that she didn't have the best track record with authority figures, and wondered if that was coloring her interaction at all.

"Of course, we are sorry Dinah," Miss Militia spoke, breaking the tension before it could build to anything meaningful. "We aren't trying to exclude you, we are just trying to get to the bottom of this."

Dinah looking confused and uncomfortable, nodded her understanding of what the patriotic hero was saying.

"It's fine," she said, breaking the silence that she'd held since entering the room. "My power allows me to ask questions. I see the possibilities, trillions of them, and I get an answer to my question. If I ask a question about someone that I don't know, I need a picture of them so that I know what they look like. When I use my power to sort through the possibilities, it is a visual experience. The answer comes to me as a percent out of 100."

The heroes traded a significant look as they absorbed what Dinah had just revealed to them. Vista stared at the slightly younger girl with her mouth slightly open as Clockblocker gave an impressed whistle.

"That's an amazing ability," Miss Militia complimented honestly.

Dinah gave a small thank you as Gamatama gave her an encouraging smile. Taylor allowed her tension to fade, mentally chiding herself for her sensitivity. It didn't matter what anyone thought about her toads but her. And this was about Dinah anyway.

"If you have to ask a question," Armsmaster spoke to Dinah, "than what led you to ask a question about the PRT having moles within the organization?" His tone was direct and to the point, completely ignoring the previous tension from before Miss Militia spoke. His expectant look towards Dinah struck Taylor as a bit brusque, but, to the tinker's credit, he sounded more curious than rude.

Taylor doubted the Protectorate leader was happy at the thought of a villain infiltrating the PRT. Too, Taylor was well aware of the irony in critiquing another person's social skills.

"40% chance that I was safe from Coil as a Ward," Dinah answered bleakly.

Armsmaster frowned severely at that. A tightening of his jaw suggested anger or offense at the thought of not being able to keep one of his Wards safe. In contrast, Miss Militia at his side made no visible reaction to the grim news aside from straightening in her seat. The only thing that indicated her mood was the green shifting as the small knife at her side transformed into an assault rifle strapped across her back.

"I see," was Armsmaster's verbal reaction to the news. "So you used your power to find out why the percent was so low and discovered the moles as the cause," he surmised.

Dinah nodded in affirmation.

"Informing you of the moles raised the odds to about 70%," Taylor offered. In part as some sort of consolation to the heroes in their own way seemed off kilter at the thought of one of their Wards being stolen from their protection. A part of Taylor was a little surprised at how serious they were taking the hypothetical kidnapping. An uncomfortable whisper in Taylor's conscious wondered what that said about herself.

"The hope is, that with access to Dinah's power, and the identity of Coil as the attempted kidnapper, you will be able to keep her safe," Taylor continued before she could settle into melancholy.

Armsmaster seemed to read something in the independent hero's tone because he sent a frown her way.

"Coil will not lay a hand on her," the halberd-wielding hero spoke, staring intently at the toad hero, "not only did he try to kidnap a civilian cape, he took part in the murder of her parents. He will not get away with that," he finished. The tinker settled back into his chair, point made. He seemed a little surprised at his own intensity on the subject.

Taylor nodded in acknowledgment of the older hero. She didn't know what part of the situation triggered Armsmaster's ire. But she was glad that he seemed dedicated to keeping Dinah safe. There weren't many heroes outside of perhaps the Triumvirate or Dragon that Taylor would want on her side. He had the reputation he did because he deserved it. Taylor knew first hand, he and Alexandria been her favorite capes as a child.

"I would like to keep my involvement in Dinah's rescue quiet."

Again, Armsmaster seemed to read her intent.

"Sensible," he agreed, "Coil will likely not be pleased with his failure. We can make sure not to mention you in our official reports.

Taylor gave a nod in thanks to the technological hero.

A buzz interrupted any further conversation. The Director picked up the offending object and unlocked her phone. Giving it a look, she tapped a quick reply.

"You'll be happy to know that the Mayor and your cousin are on their way," she informed Dinah. "When they arrive here, we can talk about the particulars of your placement in the Wards program."

Dinah nearly crumpled in relief at the news. Taylor could sympathize. It had been a long few days for the young girl. That Dinah had held up as well as she had through it all was more than Taylor thought she would have been able to do herself at that age. The prospect of finally being reunited with the remainder of her family seemed to be the crack in the dam of her composure.

The information of the Mayor's impending arrival seemed to signal an end to the meeting. Armsmaster was furiously tapping onto a keyboard built into his armor while Piggot gave a brusque thank you to the independent hero before heaving herself up and leaving the room, phone glued to her ear.

Miss Militia spared a moment for Jiraiya.

"You did a good thing here," she informed the younger hero, gesturing towards Dinah was had been prodded by Gamatama into conversation with the two Wards. Vista seemed particularly enamored with the little pink toad.

"I didn't do anything," Taylor corrected, "my toad was the one that saved her. I didn't even know she was in trouble until after the fact."

Miss Militia shook her head, "No," she disagreed with gentle firmness, "I saw the way she looked at you. She looked to you before answering our questions, she trusts you for guidance. You did a lot."

Taylor shifted, a little uncomfortable at the thought of Dinah placing so much stock in her. She just nodded in agreement with the gun hero, eager to put an end to the conversation.

Miss Militia seemed to understand, and with a pat on the shoulder to the younger hero and an amicable nod to the silent toad guarding her, she left the room.

"You just can't seem to stay out of trouble can you?" A voice joked from behind her.

Turning, she found that Clockblocker had extricated himself from the younger girls to speak with the toad cape.

Taylor didn't really have an answer for the time stopper's claim that wasn't damning.

"I'm glad you're okay," Clockblocker continued on a more serious note. "4 capes is a little much, though, don't you think?" he asked.

"I couldn't let them hurt Chemist. I had to do something," was all she could offer in response.

"You know," he continued, "there's room on the team for two new Wards."

"Sorry," Taylor responded honestly, "but I'm okay with where I am."

Clockblocker seemed a little resigned, but not surprised.

"Had to try," he joked lightly.

"Hey," Taylor spoke after a little bit, "do me a favor."

"Another one of those huh? Hopefully, it's a little less life threatening this time," was his playful rejoinder.

Clockblocker may have been joking, but, it reminded Taylor that she hadn't thanked the other teen for his assistance.

"Thank you for that by the way," she offered, "and thank Aegis for me too please. We couldn't have taken Bushido without him."

Clockblocker waved off the thanks.

"I'm a hero," was his easy reply. "I had to do something," he teased, parroting her earlier statement. "What do you need?"

"Keep an eye on Dinah for me please."

The two heroes looked over to the two younger capes in the room. Vista was chatting excitedly with her newest teammate while Gamatama occasionally prodded the more reticent Dinah to reply.

"I'll do my best," he said, "but it looks like I'll have some competition," he added dryly.

"Thank you," was her grateful reply. "I should go," she said a moment later with a sigh, "it's been a while since I've been home."

"Ah," Clockblocker said in understanding, "worried parents. The one thing more dangerous to a teenage superhero than villains. "Don't be a stranger," he ordered sternly as she prepared to leave. "You don't have to only call me during emergencies."

Taylor gave a nod of acknowledgment to Clockblocker's words.

Did that make them friends?

Deciding to shelve that thought for when she had the time to deal with it, Taylor walked over to say goodbye to Dinah before she left.

"Hey," she said awkwardly to the younger girl. What exactly was someone supposed to say in this sort of situation? Good luck? It was hardly typical by any stretch of the imagination.

Dinah had seen her approach and left Vista to fawn over Gamatama to talk with the older cape.

"You're going."

Dinah's words were as certain as if she'd asked a question using her power.

Taylor didn't deny it.

"Yes."

Dinah looked sad but resigned, and once again Taylor marveled at her maturity. She fished for something appropriate to say when the younger girl made the point moot and darted forward and wrapped her arms around the surprised cape.

"Thank you," Dinah mumbled into her stomach.

Unsurely placing her hand on the girls back, Taylor was surprised to at the intensity of her emotions. Coil wouldn't touch her.

"You're welcome. And remember, you have my number, for whenever you need it."

With a nod to the now wet-eyed girl, she turned and left Dinah in the care of her new teammates.

* * *

Exiting the PRT building, she let her mind wander as she and Gamakichi finally headed home.

She had given her dad a quick hello and a hug before retiring to her room. It felt like far more than a day and a half or so since she'd fought against the ABB. She was exhausted. If the events of the past day or so had done anything, though, it had imprinted onto her that things were getting more and more dangerous.

With that in mind, she logged onto the PHO to send Chemist a message. Gamakichi was right, another cape to watch help cover her back could only be a good thing with events shaping the way they were. With Lung and Kaiser gearing up for war, and Coil now on top of that. She needed all of the allies she could get.

Typing a quick message to the chemical tinker accepting his request for a tentative partnership, she was about to log out when she noticed a message in her inbox.

Frowning in confusion, she opened the message.

 **To: Jiraiya**

 **Subject: Warning**

 **Coil is looking into you. Watch your back, he's not the kind to forget. He won't let this go.**

 **Be careful.**

 **Sincerely,**

 **A Mysterious and Slightly Suspicious Friend**

Taylor didn't know how long that she stared at the message, only stopping once the ache in her hands from her clenched fists distracted her.

Who signed a message like that?

Gently flexing her hands to ease the soreness, she tried to figure out what to do. She tried to reply only to find out that the account had been deleted.

Grimacing at the unsatisfactory realization that she had no way of contacting whoever had sent her the message she tried to figure out what it meant. Her first instinct was that it was a trap. But she couldn't think of any reason for Coil to let her know that he was aware of her or planning some sort of revenge.

It took her 10 minutes for her to concede that she could do nothing but accept the warning as truth. To ignore it would be too dangerous. Coil knew that Jiraiya had stopped him from getting Dinah, and he wasn't happy with her. It had been asinine to think that he wouldn't be aware, with the way Ichi rescued Dinah, but she'd hoped anyways.

The buzz as her phone received a text was a welcome distraction. Unlocking it, she read the message twice to be sure that she'd seen correctly.

A proud smirk came across her face.

 **To: Jiraiya**

 **From: Unknown Caller**

 **Message: Call me Oracle.**

Looks like Dinah was Brockton Bay's newest ward.

She shut off her computer and added Dinah to the growing list of contacts on her phone. Shutting it off, she eased herself into bed, resolving to sleep and deal with the crazy that was her life tomorrow.

* * *

 **Emily Piggot**

"So," she spoke to the two heroes in her office, "the Wards know not to mention what they heard about Coil and the moles within the PRT?"

"Yes," Militia affirmed.

"Good." Turning to Armsmaster, "Was she lying at all?"

The tinker crossed his arms over his broad chest as he answered, "She was mostly truthful. My lie detector only caught to partial lies. First, with regards to Oracle's toad. Friendship isn't the only reason it's sticking around. If I had to speculate, I would say that Jiraiya gave to her as a guard or for comfort."

Piggot nodded at that, having come to the same conclusions herself. She wasn't happy about having the creature in her building, but the girl refused to part with it. It was under close scrutiny to say what, if any hidden abilities it had.

"The second time was about how she saved the girl. When she said that Oracle was kept safe by the dimensional toads, it was only partially true."

Piggot frowned at that. She didn't like not having the answers. And she liked Jiraiya running around without supervision even less.

Eventually, she spoke.

"I've known about 3 of Coil's moles for a while now," she informed the surprised heroes. "It was better to contain and control what information was leaked rather than apprehend them and deal with new, unknown spies."

"But now that we have access to Oracle's abilities, and my lie detector is finished, we should be able to root them out before they can infiltrate again," Armsmaster commented.

Piggot nodded in agreement with the tinker.

"Exactly." Her expression grew hard, and her eyes went cold as she addressed the heroes. "Coil has been caught trying to kidnap the Mayor's niece and murdering her parents. The Mayor wants blood, and the higher-ups want closure. Coil just elevated himself from a thorn in our side to an unacceptable presence in Brockton Bay. Understand?"

Miss Militia and Armsmaster nodded grimly in response.

* * *

 **Taylor**

It was a few days later during school when the ABB struck out in retaliation for Kaiser's attack. Winslow had carried an air of unease and confusion. Even her bullies had taken the hint and had kept mostly to themselves.

The Asian students affiliated with the ABB had failed to show up. The Empire affiliated students could be seen muttering and whispering together in large groups. It was during her History class that they were informed of the reason for the absences. The ABB had struck. 3 Bombs had been detonated in Empire affiliated locations. She stared ahead as the news echoed from a student's phone on speaker. The teacher did nothing to stop him, stunned at the attack. According to the reports, the casualties and injuries were still being accounted. Initial estimates were in the triple digits.

Sitting uselessly in her class as the news spread and the school went on lockdown, Taylor remained, stunned and feeling completely useless. Not since before she'd put on the mask and become Jiraiya, had she felt more like the girl that got shoved into her locker.

* * *

 **AN:** Okay, that was a long one. And a lot of stuff happened. Thoughts, questions, comments, and etc... etc... are always appreciated. Hope you liked it.


	24. Escalation 4-5

Escalation 4.5

Taylor looked on dispassionately at the scene before her. A group of five Empire thugs had tried to jump two ABB gangsters. They were winning for the most part with their number advantage. But they apparently hadn't expected the older of the ABB gangsters to be such a skilled fighter, or that he would be carrying a knife with a wicked looking blade.

Which Taylor thought was a pretty stupid oversight considering the current state of the Bay's criminal underworld. She didn't flinch at the violence and obscenities being exchanged before her. And she didn't cringe as one of the Empire thugs stumbled backward, clutching her bleeding side, a gift from the aforementioned knife-wielding ABB banger. The ABB member's victory was short lived as he got caught by a bat to the ribs while trying to help his fellow when one of the more pragmatic Empire members decided to take advantage of their numbers and circle around him.

Ever since the war between the ABB and Empire had kicked off in earnest after the bombing a week ago, the sight before her had become familiar to the point of near normalcy. It was an observation that she didn't like to think too deeply on. The city had been put into a State of Emergency. A city-wide curfew was in effect and the National Guard had been called in to bolster the struggling police force. Violence between the two strongest gangs erupted daily, neither side willing to give. The PRT and Protectorate heroes were on nonstop patrol, picking off gang members with ruthless efficiency. Bakuda's bombing had killed 33 people and injured just over a 100. Not all of the victims were Empire members. An inevitability since the Empire was entrenched so thoroughly in downtown. That wasn't even counting the poor souls afflicted by the disturbing effects that only a tinker-tech weapon could produce. Injuries and casualties had only gone up now that the fighting had begun in earnest.

The heroes wanted blood. Taylor could relate. The already strained situation was further complicated by Lung using the threat of Bakuda's bombs to try and break out Bushido. A tap on her shoulder drew her focus away from how terrible the current situation was and back to the matter at hand and let her know that they were ready to end this.

Finally.

Taylor gave a sharp piercing whistle that immediately drew the attention of the brawling gangsters. Threats died on their lips at the sight of two capes blocking one end of the alley.

In an almost comical display of unity, the disparate gang members silently and immediately agreed that two capes took precedence over their brawl. As she watched the gangsters scramble to their feet and try to wordlessly figure out a plan Taylor idly wondered why the Nazis and the Asians couldn't have gotten along so easily before starting this pointless fight.

The gang members in question were interrupted from their uneasy staring at the silent capes as they tried to decide whether they should run or fight by a loud thud behind them. Gamakichi grinned nastily at the thugs blocking the other end of the alley, his knife glinted ominously under the dim glow of the streetlight. In another surprising display of coordination from the opposing gangsters, the thugs took one look at the hulking toad and ran at the two capes, zeroing in on the softer targets.

Taylor stood before the oncoming rush in a loose stance, relaxed but ready. Between breaking up gang fights over the past week and the almost brutal training Kichi was in the process of putting her through following their fight with the ABB capes, she felt confident in a physical confrontation. Something about his fight with The Painted Lady had unnerved the toad. Which translated into long hours of grueling practice for Taylor. She saw through his vague explanation of remedial training easily enough, the ABB cape must have been extremely skilled to have Kichi worried about her safety. The question mark that was Coil and the current gang war probably didn't help matters.

At her side, Chemist tensed up in an unpracticed fighting stance that loosely resembled something competent. He still very much preferred to use his technology when it came to fights.

Thankfully for the tinker it was a non-issue. The dark alley combined with their reckless charge meant that the gangsters were ignorant of the danger until too late. It was the female Empire member who'd been cut that set it off. In her hurry, the Empire member missed the nearly invisible tripwire. She wasn't even aware that she'd set it off until it was too late.

An eruption of nearly clear smoke gave the charging thugs their first clue that something had gone wrong. They didn't get a second. Before they could even comprehend what was happening, let alone try to work around it, the chemical took effect. The gangsters began hacking violently, their forward motion halted by the raucous coughs.

"Your mixtures are terrifying," Taylor informed Chemist matter-of-factly as she stared at the weeping retching mess that used to be hardened criminals.

"Thank you," the male cape answered brightly at the apparent compliment from his more reticent ally. "I've actually started looking into new ways to develop and apply my chemicals aside from just delivering them through the chem-balls," he informed his new partner, always happy to talk about his work.

Taylor rolled her eyes as he rattled on with a long and complicated explanation of his new idea, using enough high level chemistry terms to make her head spin. From what she gathered about tinkers, it was most likely to try and cover up the fact that he didn't know how to explain some parts of the process. Tinkering had been described almost more as an art than a science more than once. As Taylor approached the unfortunate recipients of Chemist's work, she wondered idly what would happen if someone smart enough to fully understand and explain what they were doing ever triggered and became a tinker.

The good news for the downed thugs was that they didn't have long to dwell in their misery. The bad news was that they were put out of their misery by two teenagers with tasers. Taylor had worked with Parian and Chemist to ensure her mask would be filtered for smoke and chemicals once she'd decided to team up with the chemical tinker. She didn't think that she'd ever live down the embarrassment were she to fall to friendly fire. Chemist had his own filtration device in the form of an odd looking rebreather that he'd devised. After the chemical had taken effect, it was insultingly easy to stun and tie up the gangsters who were in no fit state to defend themselves.

"Short version?" She asked interrupting Chemist's flow of geek speak before he could really get into it as she checked the wounded gang members to make sure nothing was too serious. Frowning, and deciding the Empire member that suffered the knife injury could probably use a bandage, she listened with half an ear as Chemist told her what he was working on.

"I'm working on a chemical bath that I can use to treat Parian's fabrics to make our uniforms more resistant to damage," he said as he smoothed the pristine white lab coat he was wearing. "Parian was happy with the idea," he added, "apparently she's getting sick of making you coats," the tinker finished, sounding a little mystified.

Parian had decided that if the tinker was going to be working with Taylor he wasn't allowed to walk around in the travesty that had been his previous costume.

Her words.

The rogue had tackled the issue of the tinker's new costume with gusto, keeping to the overall theme of his makeshift costume but adding her own touch. Parian had done amazing work as always. Chemist was barely recognizable in his new costume. The sleeveless and badly dyed gray lab coat with the cut off sleeves was replaced by a pristine white number that was much more durable. She'd altered the sleeves to be slim enough to fit beneath his chem-gauntlets. His ratty jeans had been similarly replaced by black spandex. Though, spandex wasn't really the correct term. It was a bit thicker, and according to Parian, made of various fibers from her contact in Milwaukee and woven in such a way as to be resistant to friction and tears. He'd kept his clunky steel toed boots, though. The new look combined with his tinker-tech gear gave him a very distinct future scientist vibe.

"Sounds useful," she told him, waving to Kichi as the large toad made his way toward the two humans. And it really did. Again she found herself amazed at the utility of Chemist's power. He could have been a truly dangerous villain had he gone that route.

She'd just finished zip tying the last of them when she heard the gloating cheers and croaks from her toads. Her squadron of tiny scouting toads melted out of the shadows, hopping on top of the downed humans in triumph. She looked on a little bemused as one of the little toads did a little victory dance on an E88 member. It wasn't the dance that she found strange, that was actually surprisingly well executed, the oddness was the makeshift crown the toad sported that looked to be fashioned from candy wrappers, no doubt casualties from a Gamatatsu sized massacre. Taylor recognized dark green stripe on its back and pegged it as the one who'd built the throne made of money at the ABB stash she'd hit. It seemed the little toad took the idea rather seriously. Taylor decided it would be best for her long term mental well-being to just not think about it further. Even for her, the toads could be too weird sometimes.

"Thank you for the help guys. Good job with the trap, it was flawless."

The scout troupe ceased their victory celebrations to better soak up the well-deserved praise from their summoner.

"I think we have it from here, you guys can head home now."

The little toads exchanged a look before croaking an understanding at their summoner. With a last salute, and a kick to the ABB member from one of the more vindictive toads, the group vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Yes, seven gang members brawling with weapons. Two ABB and five E88. Some blunt force trauma and a few minor to moderate cuts, nothing immediately serious. They will be out of it for a while. Okay, thank you."

"Called it in already?" Taylor asked.

"Yes. The BPD should arrive within 10 minutes," her new partner answered.

"Do you want to stay with the thugs or look for more trouble?" She inquired to the other cape.

A large part of her wanted to continue. She wanted them to know exactly how she felt about their bombs, one knocked out criminal at a time. Another large part of her wanted to leave the other cape behind and go it alone. Taylor had agreed to their partnership, but she'd found it harder to adjust to than she'd thought it would. The summoner had hoped her experience at working with the toads would translate to working well with the other cape. And it had in some ways, as evidenced by the captured group of thugs at their feet, and them with no injuries. Hell, they hadn't even had to lift a finger really.

But she wasn't comfortable with their partnership. In short, she didn't trust him. It wasn't Chemist's fault. Over all, she thought he was okay as far as people went. But trusting a human to watch her back was turning out to be much harder than one of her toads. Even with the mask and powers, sometimes Winslow still reared its ugly head in her thoughts and actions. Every time it happened felt like a failure.

"Let's keep at it," the tinker said after thinking about it, interrupting her introspection. "You can leave a toad to watch over them until the PRT arrive right?"

In answer to his question she flipped through the familiar motions and summoned a red toad that was oddly shaped, almost like a gourd. It waved in greeting to its summoner, not able to speak due to the seal embossed stopper in its mouth.

"Can you watch these guys and make sure they don't escape until the authorities arrive?"

The gourd toad nodded amicably in agreement.

"Thanks."

Throughout the course of the night the two capes and various toads encountered two more small Empire groups, armed and looking for a fight, and a lone Merchant who'd been harassing a kid.

While the Empire and ABB had been extremely active as of late, the Merchants had largely laid low, looking to see which way the wind went with the bigger sharks before making any moves. They'd mostly been sneaking under the radar while the PRT had bigger fish to fry and plying their sick trade, careful not to step on any ABB or Empire toes lest the stomp back. The merchant in question had been trying to do just that before he'd been rudely interrupted by a harsh lash from Gamakichi's powerful tongue. Chemist had finished the job by none to gently jabbing the grubby Merchant with his taser.

Nobody liked the Merchants. Not even the other gangs.

Later that night as Taylor shucked her costume off and switched into something a little less conspicuous she couldn't help but feel unsatisfied with the fruits of their effort. Catching gang members was nice she supposed, but it changed little overall. The E88 and ABB wouldn't stop fighting because they lost some cannon fodder here and there. It was snuffing out candles while the wildfire raged on. The real power was held by the capes, and everyone knew it. If Taylor wanted to do some actual, meaningful damage to the gangs, that's where she'd have to strike.

A chime from her phone interrupted her as she was trying to sneak into her house without alerting her father. She froze at the sound, cursing herself for forgetting to put it on vibrate as she strained her ears to hear any movement in the house. After the longest 5 seconds of her life she released the breath she'd been holding and continued her way through the kitchen and up the stairs, neatly skipping the third step which had a tendency to creak as she made her way to her bedroom.

Once Taylor was safely in her room she checked her phone to see who'd sent her a message. A frown curled her lips upon seeing it as an alert from when she'd linked her PHO account to her phone and not a text. Curious, she checked the message. She'd only bothered to get herself verified recently and rarely received direct messages from people.

The frown on her face deepened when she saw who had sent her the message.

 **To: Jiraiya**

 **Subject: Super-Secret Meeting (No Protectorate Allowed! ;P)**

 **A conclave has been called. The word has been spread, all of the independents and villains are going to be there to discuss what to do about the Empire and ABB. A gang war and the National Guard is bad for business after all. Consider this your invite. The meeting is in 3 days at 9pm at Somer's Rock.**

 **See you soon,**

 **Your Mysterious and Slightly Suspicious Friend**

 **P.S. Coil called the meet.**

A meeting?

If that was true, and if Coil was the one that called it, Taylor had to get there. A chance to learn more about Coil couldn't be turned away. However, she was cognizant of how convenient and suspicious the message was. What were the chances that right as she was struggling to make a major impact on the gang war that the answer would come, dangled in front of her? She could see the hook. There was a very large chance that whoever was sending this to her was either lying or trying to manipulate her for something.

Taylor checked the account that sent her the message and wasn't surprised to find that it was deleted just like last time. It seemed the person sending her messages still wasn't looking for replies.

Taylor didn't even know if this 'Conclave' thing was real. She had never come across the concept during her research into the cape scene. She'd have to at least try and verify that it was a real thing that happened, and not something her mysterious maybe friend made up.

A yawn ripped its way out her throat and stopped her before Taylor could get too lost in her planning.

Something for tomorrow she supposed.

With a tired sigh, she slipped into bed and turned off the lamp on her nightstand.

Tomorrow she would get answers.

* * *

 **The Hideout (Next Day)**

"So these meetings have been called before?"

"Yes," Parian confirmed over the speaker, "though they are rare, and only ever done when something serious is happening. As you can probably guess, most of the villains don't trust each other enough to want to be so close for anything less than a matter of great importance. The last time this happened was when people were trying to figure out what to do after Lung first came to town and beat the entire Protectorate team."

"Is it okay for us to go if villains are going to be there?" Chemist asked, speaking to the phone sitting between the two capes.

"As long as you're not Protectorate no one cares," Parian confirmed. "Anyone that tries to start something will get taken down by everyone else at the meeting. It's mutually assured destruction. I asked around, I can't tell you if the person who sent that message is planning anything, but, I can at least confirm that the meeting is really happening," the rogue informed the other two capes.

That was something Taylor supposed. She again found herself thankful that circumstances had aligned to lead her to Parian. The doll girl may not have been a fighter, but Sabah had been a cape longer than her, and it showed through her connections and the information she could get ahold of when necessary.

"You're going," Parian stated rather than asked sounding a little resigned.

"Yes," Taylor replied honestly. "If people are planning to do something to try and put a stop to all of this than I want to know about it." And, she continued in her head, it was a chance to both get some answers about who was sending her messages and would give her a chance to meet with Coil and try and get a bead on him in a theoretically neutral setting.

"Please be careful," Parian pleaded to her headstrong friend, "Somer's Rock is supposed to neutral grounds for the duration of the meeting, but the majority of attendants will be villains. You'll be isolated, theres no way help could reach you in time in that situation."

"I understand," Taylor said with a nod before remembering that Parian wouldn't be able to see it. "I'll be careful, I promise."

"If you ruin another coat I won't forgive you," Parian said sharply once it became apparent that Taylor wouldn't be swayed from going.

Chemist stayed quiet as Jiraiya assured the rogue that her battle jacket wouldn't get a scratch on it. What Parian had said to the toad summoner was not to ruin another coat. What he'd heard from the rogue was don't get hurt. He traded a glance with her preferred toad who gave him a wink. Gamakichi had apparently heard it as well. He wondered what Jiraiya had heard. Even after a week of fighting by her side, Jiraiya was still largely a mystery to him. She was very competent, almost scarily so at times. But the other cape tended to be a bit distant for the most part.

"Thanks for your help Parian," Jiraiya said in farewell once she'd finally convinced the other girl that she'd take care not to ruin her costume and that she'd be careful.

"You're welcome. Sorry that I couldn't come down today, I have exams to cram for."

"It's fine," the red-coated cape replied easily, "I'll let you know how it turns out in a few days."

"Goodbye."

Reaching over to her phone she ended the call and slipped it back into her pocket.

"Were you able to find out anything about who sent the message?"

Chemist shook his head, "No, I'm sorry. I know a bit about computers, but my specialty really doesn't lend itself for that sort of thing."

Taylor frowned but wasn't surprised. That would have been too good to be true. She supposed just because he was a tinker, it didn't mean that he automatically knew everything about computers.

"I can work out a way to get internet access in your base though, free too once its set up," Chemist continued, addressing her earlier question that she'd asked randomly on one of their patrols.

"That's going to be very useful. Thank you. We can deal with it after the meeting, I'll get you some money for any materials you need. Are you sure though? About coming to the meeting with me?"

"Yes," Chemist answered with a shrug. "Going to a place like that alone seems like inviting trouble. And I can't say I'm not interested in what would go down in a place like that too."

"Well I don't like it," Gamakichi interrupted grouchily. "Because, somehow I get the feeling that I'm not invited to this party."

"There's no way I can get away with bringing a giant war toad to that place."

The toad had no immediate answer to that, but his frown let them know that he wasn't happy.

"We'll figure something out," Taylor said vaguely. It was partly to assuage her unhappy partner and partly because she agreed with him. She wasn't really looking forward to going there without Kichi as backup.

Kichi snorted unhappily but nodded in reply.

"Do we know who else is going to be there?" Chemist asked, interrupting their byplay.

"No," Taylor answered. "Coil will be if the message is to be believed. And we can make some guesses. There might be some New Wave representatives, depending on how they feel about being in a meeting with villains. Maybe a few vigilantes if they think it's worth their time. Faultline's crew, if she sees a job opportunity maybe?" She shrugged. "The rest will probably be small time, Uber and Leet maybe? No way for us to know really."

"Not ideal," Chemist observed. "Well," he continued, "I suppose we wouldn't have chosen to be heroes if we weren't willing to do something possibly stupid and reckless every once in a while."

He got twin snorts from summoner and toad for that one.

Taylor sighed as she came to a decision. She'd been half-assing her team up with Chemist from the beginning. He still didn't even know where her hideout was. He'd been blindfolded and transported to it via toad. The chemical tinker had been surprisingly accommodating about it all. They'd been working together for a little over a week and now he was willing to follow her into a potentially dangerous meeting full of unknown danger and villains. She had to step up.

"If we're going to trust each other to do this, we should go all the way."

The other hero caught her line of thought immediately judging from the look he shot her, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Taylor said. And if she hesitated for a second before replying, nobody called her on it.

"Right," Chemist said, sounding a little off-balanced. "Right," he said again, sounding firmer and assured. With commendable assuredness, he raised his hand and pushed his goggles up to his forehead.

"Hi, I'm Chemist. You can call me Greg Veder."

Taylor stared uncomprehendingly. She was only distantly aware of her panicked breathing, feeling almost disconnected from her body. Her cape life was supposed to be safe, separate from all of this. "This was a mistake," her voice was odd in her own ears, almost strangled with the effort to keep it even. She got up, and shakily made her way out of the room, half of her already preparing a one way trip to Myoboku, as far away from reality as she could manage. Concerned questions from her companions were lost to the thunder pounding in her ears. She wasn't sure what she was feeling, just that she was feeling a lot of it.

Even when she was Jiraiya, Winslow wouldn't leave her in peace.

* * *

 **AN:** Next one's up, hope you all like it.


	25. Escalation 4-6

Escalation 4-6

"Wait here." Gamakichi didn't spare the stunned human any further attention as he moved to follow his distraught summoner. How violently he chose to deal with the chemical user would depend entirely on how and what the human had done to cause such a reaction from Taylor.

When he found the room his summoner was occupying he was greeted by the sight of Taylor pacing violently, running her hand through her hair as she tried to deal with the most recent shock in her life.

"What the hell do I do?"

Gamakichi was saved from announcing his presence by the question from his summoner. His hand clenched into an angry fist at the near hysteria in his summoner's voice. If he ever found an excuse to go after those responsible for Taylor acting like this, he'd show them what it meant to cross the Toads.

"So that was Greg," he said in lieu of a proper answer. "I expected someone smaller. And with big glasses."

That earned him an eye roll from Taylor.

"I said that he was viewed as a nerd, not that he was a stereotype."

Gamakichi nodded amicably at the correction. The male human's status in high school was hardly important to the toad, but distracting Taylor enough to distance herself from her emotions and think was.

"And he was never involved?"

Taylor crossed her arms defensively, a habit when someone broached upon that particular subject but shook her head in the negative.

"No, he was never picked on like I was, and he never did any bullying himself. Greg isn't really among the popular kids.

"You know he's freaking out? I can feel his nervous energy from here."

Taylor winced at that muttering an uncharacteristic curse as she threaded her hand through her hair and tried to think. Gamakichi spoke again with a carefully measured tone when she failed to think of anything useful to say.

"It wasn't just that it was Greg that freaked you out, was it?"

Taylor shot a hard look laden with resentment at the toad who seemed utterly immune to her pointed stare before relenting.

"No," she answered reluctantly. An uncharacteristic bout of frustration expelled from the normally controlled girl as she continued. "This was supposed to be different!" She exploded furiously. "This was supposed to be mine. And now I find out that I've been working with someone from there this whole time. The only way it could have been worse was to find out that I'd been teaming up with Emma or Sophia all along." Her sudden anger left as quickly as it had come leaving her feeling tired and empty. "What was the point of it all?" She asked her partner. "I told your father and the elders at the mountain, that I wanted an escape. To be better. I know it's selfish, but, how am I supposed to do that when I can't escape from that place." Spent, she ran her hand through her now thoroughly disheveled hair and did her best to calm down.

Gamakichi had weathered the storm of her emotions in silence. Eying his summoner to be sure that she was done speaking he said his piece.

"You feel betrayed perhaps, by his identity."

Taylor rose her head to stare at the toad, latching on to his words.

"You've been working together with him for a little over a week now. Maybe you were even starting to like him as a person and not just for how useful his abilities are. And now that you found out his identity you feel like you've been lied to this whole time. Maybe it even makes you feel like the bullied girl you used to be while wearing your mask for the first time."

Taylor stared dumbly as Gamakichi calmly dissected her frenzied thoughts and feelings, laying them out plainly to be examined. He was right for the most part and Taylor had to resist flinching at how foolish it sounded. Taylor mentally berated herself for punishing someone else because she couldn't handle her own problems. Gamakichi spoke before she could stew in her thoughts further.

"When I took you to be tested before my father and the elders, you told us that you wanted to use your powers to be a hero. To be a stronger and better person than you were."

Taylor nodded at that frowning inwardly. Some nights, if she thought about it for too long, she would criticize herself for the selfishness personal reasons to be a hero. Her thoughts would whisper that her desire to flee from her life were wrong and self-serving, that it wasn't a heroic reason. On those nights, she pushed herself to patrol longer and fight harder. To help more people and silence the traitorous thoughts.

"You've taken down a lot of criminals in Brockton Bay. And more importantly, you've helped a lot of people. Sometimes even saved them outright," Gamakichi informed her. "It's undeniable in the relatively short time you've been active that you have done good work. Parian and Chemist would certainly vouch for that. But," he continued with a penetrating stare, "How can you be stronger than what those bullies turned you into when all you're doing is hiding behind a mask? You aren't overcoming what happened to you, you're running from it." The toad's voice was uncharacteristically cold as he dissected the flaws in his summoner's desires.

Gamakichi was careful not to express the regret he felt at the utter shock that painted Taylor's voice, clearly visible even behind her mask. She needed to hear this. Things were getting serious in Brockton Bay, and lying to yourself could only take you so far. Naruto had learned that lesson the hard way at the Falls of Truth. Taylor needed a clear head if she was going to keep throwing herself at more and more dangerous enemies. That didn't mean he had to like hurting her.

He watched patiently as she struggled to digest what he'd just said. Cold truths always went down the hardest. When Taylor spoke again, her shoulders were slumped. The picture of exhausted defeat.

"You're right." Her voice was barely more than a whisper. Volume choked by shame.

"Everyone lies," Gamakichi consoled his partner, "most just don't realize that who we most often lie to is ourselves."

"What now?"

"You've acknowledged your weakness," the toad said in answer. "All that's left is to accept it, and grow from it. I have faith that you will become the person you want to be."

"I have to go talk to him don't I?"

The question was rhetorical given that Taylor was already straightening her jacket and putting her appearance back into some semblance of order, but Gamakichi answered anyways as she made to head back to the no doubt confused and worried tinker.

"Yes," he agreed. "And," he added, causing Taylor to stop, "something to consider. If Greg has those powers of his now, that means that he also went through a trigger event too, yeah?"

Taylor paused long enough to absorb that before giving her partner a final nod as she left to speak to the other cape, "I understand."

Gamakichi let out a sigh as he found himself alone in the room. Tadpoles. Scratching the top of his head and following after his human, he idly wondered if he had been as much of a handful when he was a younger toad.

* * *

"I'm sorry," Taylor apologized to the still unmasked tinker upon walking back into the room. "I wasn't expecting to be familiar with your identity."

She didn't give him time to speak or question that or herself to second guess what she was doing, without permeable she reached up and pulled down her mask.

"I'm Jiraiya, you can call me Taylor Hebert," she told the thunderstruck tinker.

Greg stared at her as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He mumbled something to himself that she couldn't hear, still staring.

Taylor scowled at his obvious shock and the situation she found herself in. Doing her best to ease her expression into something more neutral, she examined Greg critically. Even seeing him without a mask it was hard to picture him as the same occasionally annoying kid from school.

He'd been quieter lately in school, but, now in his costume, he seemed more… mature, though that wasn't quite right. At school, lately, he was slower. Or maybe less frenetic was a better way to put it. Before he was always moving, full of nervous energy, even when sitting still he was prone to twitching or tapping his feet. He seemed more deliberate now, even in his current shocked state. Taylor couldn't really figure it out, but, he was different. Fair enough, she was different when she was in costume as well.

Eventually, he seemed to come to his senses, "What now?" he asked, still staring at the other girl as though he thought if he were to look away she would disappear. "I understand if you don't want to work wi —,"

"Nothing changes," she interrupted brusquely. "We'll go to the meeting together, and afterward if you still want to, we'll continue our partnership. But," she continued, "It might be best to take some time to for both of us to come to terms with this."

Greg nodded still looking a little dazed.

Taylor steeled herself and spoke her apology, "sorry about running out earlier," because it needed to be said, even if part of her balked at the idea of apologizing to anyone from Winslow for any reason.

"It's fine," he dismissed, "I understand."

Something inside her clenched painfully at the other cape's words. Because it was true, he did understand a little bit, he'd been there after all. It wasn't a welcome reminder.

"I'll call you the day of the meeting and we can go there together."

Greg thankfully seemed to understand the request for solitude because he just nodded agreeably and made to leave before stopping.

"I just realized, I don't actually know where I am," he said awkwardly. "How do I get out of here?"

"Sorry," Taylor said, shaking her head at her own forgetfulness, "Kichi can lead you out."

"Okay, thank you," he made to leave before pausing once more. "Taylor," his voice was hesitant, a little unsure, "it won't be like school. I've got your back," he finished strongly and left before he could get a response.

Taylor stared after Greg as he walked off with her partner. There had been a lot left unsaid between the two of them that would need to be addressed at some point. Taylor pressed her palms against her eyes in an effort to stave off her encroaching stress induced headache. She would almost rather have fought Bushido once more than do that again.

* * *

 **Chemist**

"Whelp, this is it. Think you can make your way home from here, kid?"

Greg was startled from his whirlwind thoughts by the toad that had led him out of the base. Looking around, he recognized the area. Right at the edge of the docks, not exactly the nicest neighborhood, but not everyone could live downtown he supposed.

"Yeah, I can figure it out."

It would be a bit of a walk unless he changed into his civilian clothes and took the bus, but right now he just wanted to be alone.

The toad seemed to sense the mood because he just nodded obligingly.

"Don't worry too much kid," Gamakichi spoke, "she just wasn't expecting somebody from that place. It's nothing personal. But hey, watch her back like you said okay? Otherwise, I might have to hurt you." Giving the unnerved human a cheerful wave, the large toad disappeared in a blast of smoke.

Greg didn't remember much of the walk home. He remembered finding a place to change out of his costume, but the motions had felt distant, his mind otherwise occupied. He wandered in the general direction of his house slowly through the edge of the docks. Greg wouldn't have felt comfortable in this area after dark, but, he felt safer with his hood up and a few chem-balls in his pocket.

Never in a million years would he have guessed that Jiraiya and Taylor were one and the same. It was obvious now in hindsight. There weren't many girls of Taylor's height. And her long curly dark hair was one of her most distinctive features. But that was after seeing her take off the mask. Before that, imagining Taylor pulling off the acrobatic feats that Jiraiya was capable of, and picturing her fighting with the brutal efficiency that Jiraiya did was laughable. If Taylor was capable of all of that, then why would she let the bullies walk all over her the way that she did? Greg shook his head, Taylor showed a lot more restraint than he would have in her situation.

It had to have been the locker that caused her to get super powers. When he'd first triggered, he'd done a lot of research about triggers and capes in general. There wasn't really one accepted theory, unfortunately. Capes were to new and little understood for that, even nearly 30 years after Scion appeared to the world. One theory, though, that he'd liked because it felt like it matched his experience, was that trigger events correlated with powers.

He'd been desperate to try and help Taylor. To finally find within himself the ability to actually step up and help her for once. Nothing he could have said would have mattered. His voice against the three most popular students in the school? Not a chance. But he hadn't even tried. He'd been too afraid of ending up in the same situation as her.

Greg wasn't sure he could ever really forgive himself for that. Maybe if Taylor had known that somebody had cared enough to at least try to help her it would have helped her in some way. And then he had heard about the locker. How he'd unknowingly walked by her as she was locked in suffocating amongst the refuse, alone and isolated. That had been the breaking point. Now he had his powers, and the will to use them. Greg was certain that as long as he had enough time, there wasn't a problem he couldn't solve with the right mixture.

Taylor had always been alone in school. No matter how much he might have wished otherwise, they hadn't been close. Looking back on it, he knew he'd come off too strong. He'd desperately wanted the movie ending for himself, the two outcasts banding together to take on the world. Taylor hadn't reciprocated and kept him at arm's length.

Greg wasn't sure if it had been because he had been annoying or if part of her had worried about having a friend might draw some of the negative attention to them that she experienced daily. The point was that she isolated. He supposed it made sense that Taylor's power made sure that she would never be alone again. The idea appealed to him. That there was some sort of justice in suffering something horrible like a trigger event.

His thoughts ran full circle and came to a stop at the fact that Jiraiya was Taylor. Greg did his best to squash the tiny ray of hope that sputtered to life at the thought of them working together. He didn't deserve her even if she reciprocated his feelings down the line. That fact was branded into his mind clear as day alongside his trigger. He'd only got the power to help her when it was too late.

As his neighborhood came into view Greg made his promise. It was the only decision there was as far as he was concerned. He may have been too afraid to help her in school, but he would do his best to help her as a hero. Greg knew that it would never make up for his inaction when she'd needed somebody the most, but that wasn't the point. To do nothing would be to spit in the face of the lesson that his trigger had etched into his mind. Greg might not have been the bravest hero, or the smartest, or the strongest. But damned if he wouldn't learn from his mistakes.

* * *

 **Somer's Rock**

Taylor stared at the outside of the bar unimpressed. Somer's Rock was a dingy affair, with peeling paint and bars on the windows. She had nearly walked past the place, nearly hidden as it was amongst the other nearly identical hole in the wall businesses on the rundown street. It didn't exactly seem like the kind of place that the most powerful independent capes in the city would congregate and hold a Conclave to decide a course of action about a gang war. Which was probably the point she conceded mentally.

"Ready to go?"

Greg, no, Chemist when in costume, was eyeing the building as unsurely as she was. There was an awkwardness between the two of them that hadn't been there before. They had gotten comfortable working together over the past week, starting to mesh when it came to patrolling as a team. With the tinker usually following the toad cape's lead. That ease of interaction between the two had suffered since their mutual unmasking. She could only hope that they regained it sooner rather than later.

"One second," she replied as she flipped through a set of hand signs. Unlike when she summoned, she felt the energy that powered her abilities flow to her eyes as opposed to her palms. Just like at the warehouse her eyes mutated from their normal brown to a yellow, her pupils expanding and morphing to a horizontal bar reminiscent of her toads.

At the completion of the technique, Taylor was looking at the bar before her through two sets of eyes. Her own, and the little bright blue toad on their shoulder. Gamakichi hadn't been pleased about Taylor going to the meeting without him, no matter that it would have been the equivalent of walking into a cape meeting waving a loaded handgun.

The solution was the little toad on her shoulder. Not only was she an extra set of eyes in the meeting, but, through the use of some mix of sealing and a secret toad technique that Taylor didn't even begin to try to understand, Kichi was able to see what the little toad saw through the reflection of a pool on Myoboku. Personally, Taylor thought that him having to watch and be unable to do anything in case anything went wrong would probably be even worse for the toad than not knowing until after the fact, but, she appreciated the thought.

"Whoa," Chemist said, taking a half-step back from Taylor before remembering himself.

And, as her ally demonstrated, the toad eyes had one other benefit. A pair of yellow eyes glaring out from the hood of her battle coat made for an intimidating sight. When the light reflected on them they seemed like they were glowing, creating an eerie, intimidating effect. It could only help with where they were going.

"Let's go."

Taylor focused on keeping her stride loose and relaxed, doing her best to ensure that none of the tension she experienced showed through her body. She wasn't surprised to find that the inside of the bar matched the exterior. The walls were a varying shade of grunge and it seemed like only half of the lights actually worked. The countertops looked like the owners took pride in the length of time since they'd last cleaned them. A large space had been cleared out in the center dominated by a large wooden table and flanked by booths on each wall.

The occupants of the bar ensured her attention didn't last long on the décor. The room was already occupied by quite a few capes. She could feel their eyes pressing on her and Chemist. Taylor had never seen so many capes in one place before.

She recognized some of them immediately. Manpower, his hulking form making him extremely conspicuous, stood on one side with Lady Photon and Brandish representing New Wave. On the opposite side of the room stood Faultline in her costume, an odd mix of riot gear and an elegant dress, accompanied by her mercenary crew.

The recognizable faces made the reason for the clear divide between the Conclave's attendants obvious. Villains on one side and Heroes on the other.

She took a moment to fully absorb the sheer number of capes in the place. She only recognized two of the heroes aside from the New Wave representatives. Dressed in a simple costume of leathers, faces covered by bandanas, and bristling with enough guns to wage their own war were the vigilante duo of Spray and Pray. Taylor didn't even know what their powers were, she just knew of them through their bloody reputation. They hated criminals and weren't shy in expressing it. The pair had a particular hatred for the Merchants, and between the two had racked up a body count in the double digits, mostly comprising of the Merchant drug dealers. Judging by the dark glares they were sending across the room and the way their fists clenched as though trying to grasp a weapon, Taylor assumed that their reputation was well deserved. She would make sure to keep her distance from them.

A frown crossed her face when she realized that the Villain half of the room was noticeably larger. Faultline's crew made up the center of the group. A massive figure Taylor didn't recognize that almost matched Manpower in size clad in hulking metal armor stood at the side while an extremely androgynous figure of indeterminate gender in clown makeup lurked in the background. Uber and Leet were present as well, though it took her a second to recognize the pair in their current video game theme. She didn't recognize what they were supposed to be aside from the fact that it seemed to be of some sort of military theme.

Realizing that they were just standing at the entrance getting stared at, Taylor made her way to the hero side of the room with Chemist following at her heels. She ignored the curious and sometimes hostile looks from the rest of the occupants. Taylor had to withhold a smirk when Leet flinched after meeting her yellow gaze. She may have been relatively new, but she wouldn't let herself be pushed around.

"Hello, Jiraiya is it? And I'm sorry, I don't know your name," Manpower spoke, voice surprisingly normal for a man his size, taking initiative for the hero side and directing the latter part of his question to her tinker ally.

"Chemist," Greg answered stiffly, the nerves getting to him despite his best efforts to keep a calm demeanor.

"It's always good to see more heroes," the New Wave member said, "as you can see, we find ourselves a bit outnumbered."

"Unfortunately, becoming a hero seems to be the exception rather than the expectation," Lady Photon remarked at his side. "I heard about your encounter with Hookwolf Jiraiya, I'm glad that it ended well," giving a nod in greeting to the two independent heroes.

Taylor noted that it was only the New Wave members among the other heroes that decided to approach them. Spray and Pray stood off to the side and the other two that she hadn't recognized were consumed in their own whispered dialogue. Though it was a little inaccurate to say that all of the New Wave members were the ones to talk to them. It was just Lady Photon and Manpower, Brandish remained where she was sending a cold stare to the gathered villains with enough venom in it to rival Spray and Pray's own.

She was saved from having to find something to say by a loud thudding noise that cut through the suspicious stares and quiet muttering. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw through her curious toad's eyes when the little blue toad looked toward the source of the noise.

Revenant.

Probably one of the most infamous cape in Brockton Bay before Lung made his loud debut. A shirtless man with no mask that looked to be in his early 20s, his bare chest was almost entirely consumed by brutal scar tissue. Numerous wounds covered his body, any one of which would have been almost certainly fatal to anyone else. Once graced with a strong jaw and sharp cheekbones, he now seemed more gaunt than striking. Curly black hair with a greasy sheen tumbled down to his shoulders in an uncared for mess. He had probably been handsome at one time. Whatever good looks he may have had at one point was robbed by the sickly pallor of his skin and the dark bruises that were a constant feature under his eyes.

There wasn't a person in Brockton Bay that didn't know who he was. The longest active cape in the city, he looked to be in his early 20s, and he had looked that way for the past 20 years. If he had another name aside from Revenant, no one remembered it or wanted to risk admitting to the knowledge.

He had started off as a relatively normal brute. Nothing exceptional, a little bit of lower end strength that was barely worth mentioning when compared to others of his class and a respectable amount of durability. Revenant had reportedly been killed early into his cape career. He had reappeared a week later fighting the cape who was his would-be murderer. Only, it hadn't gone the same way. The cape who had killed him had been a mid-level blaster, powerful enough to easily take out Revenant the first time. When Revenant had reappeared and they fought again, the blaster found his power less effective than it should have been against the zombie cape and was unable to save himself from a bloody death at the hands of the enraged vigilante. Since then that pattern had continued, with him being seemingly killed by villains, sometimes multiple times, until he finally was able to resist their powers enough to kill them. The PRT had labeled it as an adaptive trump ability that seemed most effective against exotic energies and blaster powers. He was smart too. Chose his fights carefully. He hadn't lasted on the scene for as long as he'd had by having someone like Kaiser pin him in place with blades long enough for the PRT to find him and arrest him.

The experienced cape had been one of the independent capes that Parian had reached out to about the legitimacy of the Conclave. Taylor shivered, discomfited at the very thought. Parian had to seriously stop underestimating her own bravery if she willingly sought out someone like him, even if it was through the PHO. Such was the reputation for Revenant's capacity for violence, that even grouped as they were, the villains stayed at a respectful distance from the vigilante.

The noise was from the man clunking a half-full bottle of whiskey down onto the table. If the whiskey had any negative effect on the vigilante it didn't show on his face or in his voice.

"So," he spoke with a rough voice, as though it had been a while since he'd spoken to anyone other than himself, "we were all invited here to this shindig, and I can't help but notice that the person who called us all together has yet to make an appearance."

There was the beginnings of impatience threading through Revenant's voice. The gathered capes exchanged looks as they tried to figure out a response. She traded a glance with Chemist who was looking marginally more comfortable amongst the heroes, he gave a helpless shrug in reply. Better to just watch and wait she supposed, they were still relative newcomers after all.

"My apologies," a smooth voice interjected, "travel has become difficult with events such as they are. Especially if one wants to remain unnoticed."

Revenant grunted irritably and took another swig of his whiskey straight from the bottle.

The voice came from a skeletal figure clad in a head-to-toe black outfit that clung to him and merely served to accentuate the thinness of his frame, the outline of his ribs nearly visible. The only concession to color was the white snake design that coiled along his body, the head of the animal coming to rest on his forehead.

Coil.

Taylor's eyes narrowed at her first look at the man. He was certainly confident. He walked into the room full of capes without any discernable backup or weapons aside from the pistol at his hip. With a measured stride, he walked past Revenant, not giving him the space that most of the others had, and took a place at the table. Without turning her gaze from the villain, she could see through the toad on her shoulder looks of distaste from the female members of New Wave at the sight of him.

As if that were a signal, Faultline broke apart from the villain side of the room and joined the two capes at the table. The three present New Wave members exchanged a look, communicating with each other silently. After coming to some sort of decision Lady Photon broke apart from the group to take a seat of her own while the remaining heroes and villains settled into the booths at either side.

It was the last piece of the puzzle for Taylor. Coil was the one who had called the meeting. Revenant's reputation spoke for itself and Faultline represented a force of powerful and diverse capes. Lady Photon was a founding member of the strongest grouping of heroes outside of the Protectorate. They were all big players in the city's cape scene and would probably be dictating the course of the meeting.

"Are we ready to get started?" Lady Photon asked, voice carefully neutral.

"Almost," Coil answered, his voice never straying from a smooth, even tone, "we are still waiting on a few people."

As if his words were a cue another cape entered the room. Taylor raised an eyebrow, it was a blonde girl who couldn't have been much older than her. She was dressed in a skintight black outfit with purple accents, an image of stylized eye emblazoned across her chest. Taylor didn't recognize her, though from the irritated sneer on Faultline's face she wasn't unknown.

A face mask covered her eyes and cheek bones, disguising the lines of her face, but didn't do much to hide the exhaustion in the way she moved. She sported a teasing, superior grin as though she knew more than everyone else in the room, but it seemed a little forced to Taylor. As something of an expert concealing her feelings, Taylor could tell when somebody was putting up a front. There was a tenseness to her. The blonde cape casually made her way through the group of villains to the table and took a seat, lounging indolently in her chair without a care in the world, as if daring someone to protest that she belonged there.

Taylor sucked in a quick breath when the girl shot a quick wink to the toad on her shoulder. Not to her, but to the toad. Did she know? How could she? Unnerved, Taylor shook her head at Chemist's questioning gaze and mentally reevaluated the girl as someone to keep an eye on.

If anyone thought to protest the blonde girl taking a seat at the table they quickly lost the opportunity. She was almost immediately followed by a group of capes dressed in red and black. The most startling of which was a massive… thing. It looked to be a large gorilla with four arms, an alligator tail, and a razor sharp beak in place of a mouth. The creature's fur, where it had fur anyway, was patterned in red and black tiger stripes to match its teammates.

The Travelers.

Taylor didn't know much about them. The only reason that she knew about them at all was because they'd robbed the bank on the day of Lung's attack and her fight with the ABB capes. They were powerful, but they didn't tend to stick around any one area for long. She wondered what they were doing here.

A sentiment that was mirrored by the other cape's in the room.

"The Travelers," Coil acknowledged. "You are not local," he observed neutrally.

The one in the top hat walked forward to take a seat at the table as the rest of his team separated to claim one of the booths.

"No," the cape with the top hat acknowledged easily as he delicately tapped a cigarette out of a pack. "But," he continued once he lit the cigarette, "Our team is hanging around here for a while, so we felt it in our best interests to be aware of current events. What with the current unpleasantness."

"You are aware of the rules," Faultline interjected, her voice clear and surprisingly deep.

The Traveler nodded amicably, "Of course," he said easily, "the most important of which, obviously being not to cause any trouble."

"Since we're on the subject," Faultline replied, still eyeing the out of town cape suspiciously, "you should all know that my crew has been retained to keep the peace for this meeting. If anyone causes any trouble, you can be rest assured that it won't last long enough for you to enjoy it," she finished directing her words to the room at large, her hard stare shifting to the blonde cape Taylor still couldn't identify only to get a cheeky grin in reply. Satisfied at the understanding nods she received from the majority of the capes Faultline settled back into her chair and gestured for Coil to continue.

Coil nodded graciously at the mercenary and he cracked his fingers one at a time. The pop of his knuckles echoing throughout the space.

"Now, let's get down to business."

* * *

 **AN:** Well, quite a few things have happened. A glimpse of Tattletale without her merry group? Some more insight into the mysterious mind of Greg Veder, and the beginning of a super secret cape meeting. Fun stuff.


	26. Escalation 4-7

Escalation 4-7

With perfect timing, the meeting was derailed right after Coil's declaration by a group of late arrivals. Taylor was impressed at the almost casually subtle way everyone tensed and readied for action at the sound of a group of people entering the bar.

Manpower casually shifted to the side in a way that let him keep an eye on both the villains in the room as well as on his fellow New Wave members. Faultline didn't make any obvious moves herself, aside from fiddling with something hidden under her sleeve under the guise of scratching an itch. Her crew reacted to their leader's gesture by spreading throughout the room, covering all avenues, giving them the ability to both see and react to any moves by the present capes as well as get an eye on the intruders. Revenant ignored the commotion around him and stared forlornly at his nearly empty bottle of alcohol. The blonde cape that Taylor couldn't seem to put a name to just rolled her eyes at the room in general and grimaced in distaste but looked otherwise unworried.

The reason for her distaste became clear as the new arrivals entered. Their stench preceded their actual, physical entrance into the room, and Taylor had a grimace of her own cross her face, thankfully hidden behind her mask.

Merchants.

Skidmark, the leader strode in followed by two others. He wore a mask that covered the top of his face leaving the bottom half bare to the world, exposing the room to chapped lips drawn into a sneer and showing off teeth that were yellow and rotted from years of indulging in the drugs he so freely distributed throughout the docks. At his heels were a blonde woman that had probably been beautiful before the drugs took their toll on her skin and body. The trashy clothes she wore didn't do her any favors either. A tool belt laden with strange tools was slung around her hips, the only thing distinguishing her as something more than one of the Merchant's many customers. A small man with thin stringy hair that went bald toward the top of his head flanked the other side of the Merchant leader. He had long, spindly limbs that jutted out in sharp contrast to the potbelly straining against his stained and frayed shirt. The man's strange appearance brought to mind the inhabitants of Goblin-town from when her mother had read "The Hobbit" to her as a child. Squealer and Mush respectively, rounding out the Merchant's force of capes.

"I heard you fuckwits were throwing a party. Imagine our hurt when our invitation got lost in the mail."

The tension eased from the occupants of the Conclave at the sight of the Merchants and was replaced with general distaste. Nobody liked the Merchants. Taylor frowned worriedly when the toad on her shoulder noticed Spray and Pray clenching white-knuckled fists around the grip of their guns glaring bullets at the Merchants. She hoped that they weren't stupid enough to start something here. Trickster eyed the Merchant capes and pointedly lit up a cigarette in an effort to cover up their distinctive smell.

"What are you doing here trash?"

It was the first time Taylor had heard Brandish speak since she'd entered the room. She hadn't expected the older hero to sound so cold. Leaning back against the support pillar she did her best to blend into the background and observe. Even if nothing came of all of this, more insight into future enemies was welcome. Allies too, she reminded herself when she caught Manpower folding his arms across his chest, a flat stare directed toward the drug dealing capes in her peripheral.

"Fuck you fleshlight," Skidmark snarled to the hero as he made his way to the table, "we got a right to be here. This bullshit between those Nazi fucks and that wannabe dragon prick affect us too. Where the fuck do you think most of the fighting is? Merchant territory bitch. The docks."

Taylor couldn't decide what was more offensive about the drug dealer. His vocabulary or his sense of personal hygiene. A loud thud interrupted both her musings and the Merchant leader's attempt to procure himself a spot at the table.

"Find a booth," Revenant spoke evenly, the chair that Skidmark had been heading towards now knocked onto its side a few feet away from the table

"The fuck you say?"

"You heard me," the zombie cape answered, lifting his gaze from his now empty bottle of alcohol to glare at the Merchant. Revenant gave an expansive gesture to encompass the occupants of the table. "Everyone here has something to contribute, I don't like most of them and I'll settle with them eventually," he said darkly, "but, for now, I'll at least listen to them as the truce demands. You, though," he continued with a dismissive look at the increasingly apoplectic Skidmark, "are worthless. A cockroach that sells drugs to children. And I can't promise that I'll refrain from violating the truce if I'm forced to endure your company."

Skidmark was nearly shaking with rage. Looking around as if searching for support and receiving none he snarled to the room at large.

"The Merchats hold the docks. We're on the fucking frontlines of this pissing match you bunch of cuntsticks. The last line of defen –,"

He was interrupted by a scoff from the youngest cape at the table.

"Who are you trying to kid?" the blonde cape with the black and purple costume spoke, "You're bottom feeders. Rats waiting to see where the wind blows. The last line of defense?" she scoffed. "Then how come you and your band of drug pushing losers have been MIA since this whole thing started?" Taylor had to admire the confidence with which she spoke while being the center of attention to some of the most dangerous people in the city.

Skidmark was nearly purple with rage at the blonde cape's insolent question. "Why the fuck is she at the table?" He asked angrily to the room at large in lieu of a proper answer. "Talk to me about hiding? What the fuck have the Undersiders done since they knocked over Lung's casino?" He shouted at the blonde cape.

At the mention of the Undersiders, Taylor felt the pieces click into place. She hadn't been able to come up with much when researching them. Aside from the names of their members, the majority of the group's appearance and powers were something of a mystery. Taylor hadn't heard much of them in recent weeks and so she hadn't had a reason to give them much thought with much more important things to focus on. Since the only other female cape in the Undersiders didn't have a secret identity and was instantly recognizable by her dog mask, as well as being constantly in the company of the monstrous creatures that she had the gall to call dogs, that blonde cape currently facing down Skidmark had to be Tattletale.

While knowing her cape identity at least let Taylor stop calling her 'the blonde cape' in her head, it didn't give her much else. Nobody really knew anything about the cape, even her powers were a mystery. She also tended to keep a bit of a low profile compared to some of her other team members. The only thing that the cape groupies and tin hats on the PHO seemed to agree on was that Tattletale's power was supposedly some kind of thinker ability. Not that Taylor could really be totally sure of that either, as far as she could tell, most of the speculation was based on the villain's cape name. A tap on her shoulder from the little toad drew her attention back on the confrontation between Tattletale and Skidmark.

"Oh right," Skidmark spat sarcastically, "the Undersiders haven't been seen since Lung burned you pussies for being stupid enough to go after his casino. Word is that that the prick ghosted that Renaissance faire tranny on your team and that the rest of your group scattered. So, who the fuck are you to tell me about hiding bitch?

The teasing half-smirk that had been a constant on Tattletale's face since she entered the room was technically still there. The smugness, however, was replaced by something cold and ruthless, and suddenly Taylor could see why she belonged at that table with the other sharks. Tattletale gave Skidmark a long look before broadly smiling at the man. It wasn't a nice smile.

"Central Bay Train Station. Locker 12A."

Taylor stared in confusion at the apparent nonsense spouted by Tattletale. Her toad saw people exchanging confused looks equally lost.

"What the fuck?"

The horrified whisper drew the room's attention to Skidmark who looked even sicklier than had originally. The words clearly meant something to the Merchant who staring at Tattletale with a mix of fear and hate. Taylor mentally confirmed Tattletale's power as some sort of thinker ability as she watched the confrontation between the two capes intently.

"Enough."

Coil interrupted the exchange between the two. Taylor mentally chastised herself for nearly forgetting about the other occupants of the room as she repositioned herself to better keep an eye on the capes at the table.

The skeletally thin man continued when he had the room's attention, "Tattletale is at the table at my invitation. She has important information that she volunteered to share, in the interest of ending the conflict between the E88 and ABB and ensuring that our city is not troubled by the National Guard for longer than need be, or out of town Protectorate reinforcements." Coil paused to let the gravity of what he'd said sink in before continuing, "Merchants, you are free to stay. Take a booth and we'll commence the meeting," threads of irritation made their way through the carefully controlled tone that Coil affected.

Still looking shaken, Skidmark gestured to his underlings. Whispering orders furiously at Mush he grabbed Squealer and headed for a booth as the other Merchant cape nodded and left the bar, following whatever instructions Skidmark had for him.

"Now that that's over with, let's continue," Coil spoke when everyone had settled back down.

"This war between the Empire and the ABB has gotten out of hand," Lady Photon said firmly, taking the initiative. "Too many people are getting hurt and dying in the crossfire. The dead and injured are in the triple digits."

"Not to mention all the attention being aimed our way," Faultline added. "Brockton Bay is on the national news and we have the National Guard in town. Combined with the Empire and the ABB throwing down whenever they see each other is making it harder and harder to operate within the city. If I didn't see the chance for work here I would have taken my team for some out of town contracts," she continued shamelessly.

"It has become an inconvenience," Coil spoke. "My sources tell me if this goes on much longer the PRT is going to request for reinforcements. That's not even accounting for the more unsavory vigilantes and mercenaries that have flocked to the city from the surrounding areas."

"My team encountered a nasty pair from Boston just a few days ago," Trickster offered lazily in support of Coil's claim, before taking a drag on his cigarette.

"So, we are all in agreement?" Coil asked, looking around the room in one slow movement. "This little war between the Empire and the ABB cannot be allowed to continue."

Speculative looks were exchanged but nobody disagreed.

"In the spirit of that, I would like to propose a truce."

"We won't ignore criminal activity," Lady Photon warned the snake villain, "no matter what else is going on in the city."

"I wouldn't ask that of you," Coil agreed magnanimously, "which is why I would like to extend the truce to the law enforcement as well. Until this situation is resolved, those of us who need to will limit our criminal activities." He glanced around his side of the room, the snake on his mask reflecting the dim lighting. At the nods of agreement from the criminal capes, he continued, "Should New Wave or any other heroes, come across criminal activity and feel the need to intercede in the midst of all of this chaos, then the fallout can only be seen as just punishment for sloppiness. I ask only that you keep your focus on eliminating the biggest threats and cease new investigations until we've resolved this matter and the city is back to a more stable position," he finished, directing the last part toward Lady Photon and the rest of the heroes on the opposite side of the room.

The hero exchanged looks with her fellow New Wave members. Brandish said nothing but Manpower gave a grim nod to his wife in reply to her silent question.

"Agreed," Lady Photon said. "We will focus our efforts, but New Wave will not work directly with villains."

Revenant grunted in irritation but nodded in agreement. Taylor and Chemist nodded along with the remaining heroes in agreement.

"We won't be involved any further without a contract," Faultline said plainly, sounding almost bored at the proceedings.

"See me after the meeting and we'll work something out," Coil responded unruffled, clearly having expected such an answer from the mercenary. "And Trickster, while you and your team are in the area will you accept the terms?

"We would be amenable to such an arrangement," the top hat wearing villain replied as he stubbed out his finished cigarette and tapped out a fresh one from his pack.

"Now that that's settled, let us discuss solutions and ways that we can work together"

"The ABB are the main issue," Revenant spoke up, "or the most volatile," he amended. "They're responsible for the largest amount of civilian casualties and injuries. More specifically, Lung and Bakuda. Those bombs of hers are powerful, with a wide range of disturbing effects," he grimaced, rubbing an especially strange scar on his side before continuing, "They've started handing them out to their non-powered members now. We have to assume that she has the ability to make bigger ones too."

"She can," Tattletale confirmed. "Bakuda can make city-killers if she wanted too. And she's insane enough to do it too. The only reason that her little reign of terror hasn't been worse than it is now is because Lung is keeping her on a short leash."

Grim and worried looks were shared at Tattletale's announcement.

"Would you like to share your source on that?" Faultline asked skeptically.

Tattletale gave the mercenary a sharp grin in response but didn't answer to the other woman's visible irritation.

"Which brings us back to the other big issue in dealing with the ABB," Revenant continued, ignoring their byplay. "If Lung ever decides to get serious, there are few who can stop him."

"And what of the Empire?" Lady Photon asked. "If we were to focus our efforts on the ABB, what would be done about them?"

"Not an easy answer," Coil replied. "Likely, if the ABB are taken care of, Kaiser would be willing to return to the status quo. The majority of his recent aggression was in response to Lung's acquisition of more capes. The situation would likely have settled eventually if not for Lung's public attack on the Empire."

Taylor exchanged a look with Chemist, both wisely decided not to volunteer that one of the reasons Lung had attacked the Empire was as a distraction while his capes tried to take care of a new tinker. The toad on her shoulder allowed Taylor to catch the speculative look Tattletale shot the pair from the corner of its eyes. She frowned, mentally noting that Tattletale might be a threat if they ever had reason for conflict in the future.

"Kaiser's response to that was… biblical," Coil finished plainly.

Not exactly how Taylor would have described a mass crucifixion of a group of ABB members, but, she supposed it was technically an accurate description.

"And Lung's response was the weird bombs," Revenant spoke irritably. "So now, if we're done recapping what we already know, I'd like to hear some solutions."

"The unpowered members aren't that important," Faultline offered. "The capes are the ones that got to be taken out. The heavy hitters especially"

"Make it that this war of theirs costs more than they can afford," Revenant said following the mercenaries train of thought.

"That will work for the Empire," Tattletale interjected, "but it won't be as effective against Lung."

"Why is that?" Lady Photon asked in a surprisingly civil voice to the younger cape.

Tattletale snorted at the question, the tone of her voice letting the others know that it should have been obvious, "Because the only subordinate that Lung would care about losing is Bakuda, and even without her or his other capes he's a one man army all on his own. Unlike Kaiser, he doesn't actually need his flunkies. You should remember that from the last time he was batting your team and the Protectorate around like toys."

Tattletale blithely ignored the frown Lady Photon was sporting as Coil intervened.

"Fortunately for us all," he interrupted smoothly, "Tattletale possesses critical information about a potential chink in the ABB's structure."

Taylor shifted interestedly, curious to what the other girl knew that Coil deemed important enough to get her a spot at the table.

"Right," Tattletale said smugly, relishing the chance to explain. "You can't handle the ABB like the Empire. They're smaller than the Empire, but more importantly, they have two things that distinguish them. Lung and Bakuda. In the right conditions, Lung can take on all of us and then some on his own. Bakuda is the bigger worry, though. Her bombs are dangerous and it allows their regular members to be a serious threat to capes."

"I assume you are going to follow this up with an actual plan of action," Lady Photon stated neutrally.

"Yes," Tattletale replied in irritation at the interruption, "the key is The Painted Lady," she finished with an eye roll.

Taylor's lips pursed at the mention of the ABB cape. She still clearly recalled Gamakichi's warning about how dangerous Hisako was. It figured that somehow she'd be an important part of all of this.

"Explain," Faultline demanded with a narrow stare at Tattletale.

"The Painted Lady hates Lung. Like, violently hates him. And she isn't really right in the head," Tattletale continued. "I've been poking around, she's the easiest to get information on obviously since she doesn't have a civilian identity."

"What exactly do you mean by 'not right in the head?" Trickster asked, looking at Tattletale askance.

"Not sure on the details," Tattletale shrugged. "Some sort of personality disorder. Type 2 I think. The important part is that she's violent, not afraid to hurt or kill. And that she absolutely despises the ABB."

"I could have told you the first part," Revenant snorted. "Crazy bitch killed me a few weeks ago. Took me by surprise, barely even knew she was there before she got me."

Taylor was a little disturbed to realize that the zombie cape sounded almost impressed by the other cape managing to kill him. She also privately wondered at the hypocrisy of Revenant of all people calling another cape crazy for being willing to kill capes.

"Why would she be working for the ABB if she hates them?" Lady Photon asked skeptically.

"Because she's being coerced," Tattletale needled in reply in a tone that questioned the older woman's intelligence. "Lung has The Painted Lady's sister hostage," she continued, "who, from what I've been able to gather, is pretty much one of the only things that psycho even remotely cares about."

"So if we were to return the girl to her sister…" Faultline said in burgeoning understanding.

"Then The Lady would express her distaste of the ABB suddenly, violently, and all over the place," Tattletale finished with a pleased smirk.

"Do you know where the ABB is keeping her sister? And what sort of guards?" Lady Photon asked with a frown.

"I've almost got her location nailed down," Tattletale evaded. "As for the guard situation, it shouldn't be anything too serious. They can't afford to waste any of their capes guarding her when they're needed against the Empire."

"I trust you'll take care of it?" Coil asked.

Tattletale's face tightened for a fraction of a second when Coil addressed her before smoothing into neutrality. Tattletale gave Coil a nod in response.

"I'll ask around and get some backup for the actual extraction," Tattletale replied with a quick wink.

Taylor grimaced when she realized that the villain had winked to the toad on her shoulder again. Thankfully only Lady Photon seemed to catch the villain's action. Taylor wasn't opposed to rescuing a girl from the ABB, even if she was a violently dangerous woman's sister. But she wasn't eager to gain the attention of the occupants of that table.

"Let us know when you decide on that," Lady Photon said with a frown. "We'd like to send a representative to assist with the rescue," she continued confirming Taylors thought that she'd noticed Tattletale's wink. Taylor wasn't sure if she felt annoyed that the older woman thought she needed protection or touched at the gesture.

"Sure thing glow stick," Tattletale answered dismissively.

"Good. I'll lend you the aid of a few of my soldiers as well."

Taylor made note of the frown on Tattletale's face in response to Coil's offer but the other girl said nothing in response.

"Now that we have tentative plans in place, there's one more issue to discuss."

Coil gestured for Faultline to continue.

"What about the Protectorate? Who is going to be the lucky one to alert them to our little agreement?"

"They will overlook our deal for now," Lady Photon replied with a frown. "They already have their hands full with the Empire and the ABB. The Empire alone outnumbers them when it comes to capes. However, if the PRT decides to take a public stance against this union, New Wave will have to back out, and we cannot be the ones to speak to them on behalf of the villains and what they are going to do."

"I will send a message to them through my own routes then," Coil followed up.

Taylor took a vicious satisfaction in the knowledge that whatever contact had with the PRT, at least his sources in the PRT likely wouldn't last long between the combined efforts of the Director, Dinah, and the heroes. She only wished that she could see Coil's reaction when he finally discovered that the PRT was fully aware of his moles.

"For obvious reasons, many of us are not readily available to other members of this group," Coil said as he brought out a briefcase that had been under his seat. He opened it to reveal identical cell phones to the room. "So I've taken the liberty of acquiring phones for our use. They have all of the other numbers programmed in already, I ask that you check these phones regularly due to the volatility of the current situation. I believe that concludes our meeting," he continued, "Please take your phone on your way out."

Taylor hung back as everyone made to leave. Spray and Pray left together without bothering to grab a phone. She wasn't too surprised that they weren't willing to stick around and work with the villains. She was just glad that they were able to contain themselves without starting something in the meeting itself. As the initial crowd started to disperse, Taylor made her way over to the phones with Chemist. Just weeks ago she didn't even have a cell phone, now she was going to apparently own two of them. Taylor carefully edged her way around the hulking man in the bulky metal suit that groaned in distress with every movement. Taylor stilled when she saw that each phone had a symbol engraved on the back. One, next to a phone marked with an open eye had a stylized toad on it. She didn't even know that she was coming to this meeting until a few days ago, but Coil somehow managed to have a personalized phone ready for her. Unnerved, she made to grab a phone only for her hand to knock into someone else.

"Sorry," Tattletale said with a grin. "We haven't met have we? I'm Tattletale," she said sticking her hand out.

"Jiraiya," Taylor answered cautiously as she returned the gesture.

"Cool name," Tattletale responded with a wink, "hope to see you around," the villain said as she confidently made her way out of the room.

Taylor stared after her before the approaching Merchants made her grab her phone and leave. She didn't want to be closer to them than she absolutely had to be.

"So that was… something," Greg said once they exited the bar fiddling with his new phone. "I've never seen so many capes in one place before. "What now?"

"Now," Taylor said as she inspected the note Tattletale had slipped into her hand, "we go to the alleyway across the street and meet up with Tattletale."

"What?"

She ignored the startled tinker and lifted the toad off her shoulder.

"Scout it out for me please, make sure that she's alone."

The little blue toad gave an affirmative croak and hopped over to the alley in question.

"Why are we meeting the villain in a creepy alleyway?" Chemist asked, slightly confused at the rationale behind the decision.

"I think she's the one that sent us the message about the meeting," Taylor replied distractedly, more focused on taking in what the little toad was seeing. "She slipped me a note on the way out asking for a meeting. Said it was important and that she had information on Coil."

Satisfied with the images her toad sent of the other girl leaning against the wall of the alley alone waiting for them Taylor started to make her way over.

"Great," the tinker grumbled as he followed after her. "Meeting a villain with a secret agenda in a dark, creepy alleyway. What could possibly go wrong?"

Taylor rolled her eyes and didn't deign to respond as she strode into the alleyway, pausing only long enough to scoop up her little blue toad and place her back on her shoulder.

"My 'Mysterious and Slightly Suspicious Friend,' I suppose?" Taylor said in lieu of a greeting as the pair came to a stop before Tattletale.

"You can call me Tattletale," the villain responded graciously, shooting a grin at the toad summoner.

"How did you know to contact me, and that I'd be interested in Coil. And that I saved Dinah," Taylor demanded without permeable. It had been bugging her for a while now.

"It's my power," the villain responded easily. "I know things."

The two heroes exchanged a look at that, Chemist shrugging in confusion. "Elaborate," Taylor demanded bluntly.

"It's that simple," Tattletale said with a shrug. "I look at things, notice details, and extrapolate. You know Sherlock Holmes? It's kind of like that times 10. Like you two," she said gesturing at the heroes. "You two got something weird going on right now. Something shook your partnership," she said eyeing the two. "Something he did? No, sort of. A betrayal? Almost," she said musing to herself aloud, seemingly oblivious to the increasing discomfort of the heroes. "No, something from before you trig—,"

"Enough," Taylor interrupted strongly. "Let's keep focused."

Tattletale blinked and seemed to come back to herself. "Sorry," she said sheepishly, and to Taylor's surprise, she really did sound sorry, "my power's really hard to shut down. I notice things even if I don't always want too."

"It's fine," Taylor responded. It really wasn't. But this meeting had a purpose and she wasn't going to let it derail because of her personal hang-ups. "Why have you been sending me messages? What do you want?"

"I want to help you take Coil down," Tattletale replied.

"Excuse me?" Chemist asked as though not sure if he'd heard right.

"I've got my own reasons for wanting to get rid of Coil."

Chemist rubbed his temples tiredly, "Right," he said, "and we're supposed to trust that the villain in the creepy alleyway is being honest and doesn't have an ulterior motive?" He gave an expansive gesture to encompass the alleyway, "I mean look at this place. It looks like Batman's parents were murdered here. Why here?"

Taylor wasn't really sure who Batman was aside from a vague recollection of one of the more prominent comic book heroes from before the advent of capes that her dad might have shown her once. She hadn't known that Greg was into comic books.

"Eyes are everywhere," she replied vaguely. "You know what, though, you're right," Tattletale said with a grin. "Anyone could wander over here, why don't you be a dear and go keep watch."

Taylor shrugged in response to his exasperated look. She wanted to hear what Tattletale had to say, and she couldn't do that if Chemist kept interrupting with his admittedly reasonable suspicions.

"Fine," he grumbled making his way to the mouth of the alley to make sure they weren't disturbed.

Taylor watched him leave speculatively. She might have to apologize to him later. With a nudge of her shoulder and a gesture, she sent the little blue toad after him. She wasn't ruling this being some sort of trap out. If something happened to Chemist, she wanted to know immediately.

"Hey may not have been tactful, but Chemist has a point. Why should I trust you?"

The blonde villain sighed ruefully as she ran her hand through her loose hair trying to figure out where to start. Up close, Taylor could see how exhausted the other girl was. The mask and makeup couldn't wholly disguise the tired bruises under her eyes or the tension in her shoulders. She frowned as she examined the other cape. She looked tired and stressed.

"Look," the villain said tiredly, "I'm going to step out of my comfort zone and be completely truthful with you. I'm desperate. Things haven't been going well for me lately. You heard part of it from Skidmark at the meeting. Lung hit the Undersiders hard. After that, our team sort of imploded."

Taylor frowned at the tightness in the other girl's voice. She had only just met her, but Taylor got the impression that Tattletale was rarely anything other than confident.

"What happened?"

Tattletale grimaced at the question, "Our team sort of imploded. Lung killed Regent and one of Bitch's dog. That was too much for her, she grabbed the rest of her dogs and bailed. Don't really know what she's up to now aside from harassing the dog fighting rings. Grue decided the city was getting too dangerous and took his sister and left. I think he was planning to get to Boston," she finished. "We weren't really close," she ended with a shrug.

Taylor found herself oddly reassured at the way that the villain was struggling to keep her composure. Tattletale may have said that she hadn't been close with her teammates, but the other girl clearly hadn't been unaffected by the violent dissolution of her team. The honest emotions actually made Taylor more inclined to trust the other girl.

"Things got worse for me after that. Our team worked for Coil."

Taylor straightened up in shock, as far as anyone had been aware, the Undersiders were an independent operation. There had been no indication that they'd worked for others.

"Yeah," Tattletale agreed seeing the hero's reaction. "He funded a lot of our operations, and in return, the Undersiders would hit places that he wanted us too. You think we just randomly decided one day that it was a good idea to piss off Lung and go after his casino? And I'm glad you saved the girl, but it made things worse for me."

At Taylor's baffled look the blonde cape elaborated for the hero's benefit.

"See, I didn't exactly join Coil by choice. He made me an offer." At Taylor's confused expression Tattletale rolled her eyes, "you know, the kind of offer that you can't refuse," she said, miming a gun with her hand. "He wanted me for my power," she continued once Taylor understood what she meant. "But he didn't want me too close in case I worked out his secrets, and I guess to try and keep me happy as well. His power, it's subtle but very powerful. I couldn't just run away, it wouldn't have worked." She shook her head, "that situation changed when you made sure he couldn't get his hands on the precog and the Undersiders blowing up."

"How so?" Taylor asked, already certain that she wouldn't like the answer.

"Well, he didn't have his precog thanks to you, so he had to settle with his thinker," she sighed. "Today is the first time I've been able to get away from Coil for a little bit. There's a reason he forced his mercenaries on me for the ABB plan," Tattletale rubbed the crook of her arm, the ghost of something awful flashed across her face, "he hasn't been the best host."

Taylor shifted a little uncomfortably at the intensity of the villain's visible feelings.

"On the record," the villain continued, "this little conversation of ours is about me recruiting you to go after The Painted Lady's sister."

Taylor nodded in understanding. She had already resolved to help with that particular issue. The idea of an innocent person being caught up in all of this just because her sister was a cape didn't sit well with her.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Taylor asked. "You're just trusting me with all of this. How do you know I can help you out with all of this? And why me of all people in the first place?" She continued, picking up steam, "You could have gone to the Protectorate, they could have offered you way more help than I can. Or even New Wave."

"Coil has moles in the PRT," Tattletale responded. The worn-out cape narrowed her eyes shrewdly at Taylor, her lips quirked in amusement, "which you already knew. How did you pull that of –, ah," she said, "the precog. You two are close huh?" she continued sounding certain. "Anyways," she continued, seemingly almost forcefully pulling herself from that line of thought, "New Wave isn't an option either. Mainly because Brandish has a huge hate on for villains. They tend to see things in black and white, and I'm more comfortable in the gray area." She shrugged, "they'd never trust me enough to hear me out, and then I would be left standing around waiting for Coil to pick me back up after they turned me into the Protectorate."

"But you think I can?" Taylor asked, not bothering to hide her skepticism. She focused briefly on the images that she was receiving from the toad and was relieved to see that Chemist was alright if looking a bit bored, tapping away at the screen embedded into his gauntlet. At this point, she didn't think that this meeting was a setup for some sort of elaborate trap, but it didn't hurt to be too careful.

"One of the things that Coil's been trying to use me for is to get information on you," she defended. "I know you're stronger than what you've shown so far. A lot stronger. And frankly, what you've shown so far already is pretty impressive. And," she continued, "I have a suspicion that those toads of yours aren't hanging around on Earth Bet."

Taylor felt a flush creep up behind her ears at the acknowledgment of her deeds even as she felt alarmed at the villain's apparent insight into her powers. She knew that eventually she would be able to summon even bigger toads. When she'd first started, summoning Gama like she'd done against Hookwolf had left her gasping for breath and suffering a severe headache. She was getting stronger the more she used her powers. Fukusaku had described her pool of energy as something like a muscle. Building up slowly over time through extended use. She hadn't told anyone about that before. That wasn't even considering the villains speculation about where her toads came from. Tattletale's thinker ability was more powerful than she'd realized, more dangerous as well.

"And, you've apparently got a habit of picking up strays," Tattletale teased. "Parian, Chemist, and the precog," she listed, ticking off the names on her fingers.

Taylor reflexively frowned at the tone of the other cape's voice. It was irrational to take offence at what the other cape had been saying. She wasn't teasing her, not really. She was just giving examples. It wasn't her fault that she couldn't handle even light teasing like a normal person.

Tattletale must have caught onto something of what she was feeling because the thinker frowned at her before continuing, not waiting for a response.

Even as Taylor felt relief at the other cape's smooth handling of her awkwardness she made note of how insightful the other girl was with her power. If it even was her power Taylor thought eyeing the villain. The other girl could be just that observant. Taylor wasn't sure which made her more uncomfortable, that Tattletale's power could be able to pick apart so much, or that the girl herself might be able to read Taylor so well already.

"There's also the fact that you're going after Coil too, so I know that I could get you to at least hear me out," Tattletale went on reasonably. The villain made as if to continue before stopping. Closing her eyes tiredly she massaged her temples as if to ward off an oncoming headache.

"Alright, look," she said, the teasing, knowing tone that had been present for most of the time the villain spoke was gone, replaced by something tired and a little desperate. "I'll be honest. You're basically my Hail Mary. I've got nobody else to turn too and nowhere else to go." Something like defiance crossed her features, "and I won't stay with him anymore. If you can't help me, then I'll try to run." She shrugged a little defensively, "I doubt I'd last for long. Bastard's got eyes everywhere, and the cash to hire good trackers. But I'll lose my damn mind if I stay much longer."

In a sudden, almost violent motion that caused Taylor to tense up and take a step back, Tattletale reached up and ripped off her mask.

Taylor gaped at the unexpected action. The villain looked younger without the mask concealing her no revealed freckles. She had pretty features which were currently marred by stress. Her face was pale and drawn, the bruises under her eyes even more pronounced without the mask to soften the edges. She looked awful.

Tattletale looked steadily into Taylor's eyes, not outwardly acknowledging the magnitude of her actions. "My name is Lisa, and I really need your help. You are literally my last hope. I won't lie to you," she continued. "I haven't suddenly seen the error of my ways. If Coil hadn't forced me into his organization I would have used my power to ensure that I could live a comfortable life. I don't feel bad about stealing from people. I can't find it in myself to care about people the way you do. To give myself to them as freely as you do and try to help," she continued. Taylor imagined she might have sounded a little wistful. "My power ensures that I always see the worst in people. The little details and the big secrets they'd rather not share." Her eyes cast out in memory, "I see the most normal, nice looking people every day as I walk down the street, and my power shows me the lie it is. The man reading a newspaper is cheating on his husband. The electrician on the telephone pole is battling his sexual preference for children. The woman on the bus who drowns her sorrows in wine and takes out her temper on her children." Lisa's eyes bored into Taylors, "the hero that was beaten down to thoughts of suicide by school bullies."

Taylor forgot how to breathe as Lisa continued speaking. Her body went completely still as if staring down a predator, trying and failing to come to terms with the fact that a stranger was aware of something that she hadn't even told Gamakichi.

"How?" she asked in a strangled voice.

"My power," Lisa said in apology. "It lets me know things even if I didn't ask for it. Even sometimes if I don't want to know."

"Let's not talk about that please."

Tattletale nodded in understanding, still looking apologetic.

Taylor ran her hand through her hair in agitation as she struggled to come to terms with everything that the villain in front of her was saying.

On one hand, every bit of common sense that Taylor had was saying no to trust the villain in front of her. It was just obvious. Villains were people that a hero fought, not a person that a hero was supposed to meet in dark alleyways and discuss secret plans with. Chemist's reaction to their rendezvous with Tattletale was entirely reasonable. It was even the logical response. Taylor wasn't sure what it said about her that she wasn't responding in the same way.

The toad summoner gave a huff in agitation when she realized that she'd begun pacing without even noticing while lost in thought. Stopping her harried movement, she ran her hand through her already messy hair and ignored the wary, hopeful look Lisa was giving her.

On the other hand, Taylor really wanted to help Lisa. If everything she said was true, what Coil did to her was beyond wrong and an unsettling view of what she was trying to protect Dinah from. She had to smooth her hand out of the fist she'd unconsciously created just thinking about it. Every part of her screamed at her to help the beleaguered villain. If what Lisa said was true, then her future was looking grim, possibly fatal. Taylor didn't really enjoy that she was apparently the other girl's only hope. It felt like she was being forced into a decision, even if a part of her acknowledged that she'd already made her choice. The image of the picture of the little girl that she'd found in Marquis' old hideout floated across her thoughts. A reminder that Villains were people too, and thus, infinitely more complex than what their occupation might say about them.

She would help Lisa. Taylor couldn't do anything less and still call herself a hero. She'd been granted a second chance, and now she was in the position to offer that same gift to somebody else. And, she really despised bullies like Coil. A cynical part of her traitorously whispered into her mind that somebody with Lisa's power could have potentially known about all of this, how she felt and how she'd react, and targeted her for help for that very reason.

Reaching into her pocket, she smoothly withdrew her original cell phone and unlocked it. Holding it up to the confused villain, she snapped a picture and tapped out a quick message before hitting send. Taylor would help Lisa. That didn't mean she had to be stupid about it.

"Independent confirmation," she said vaguely in response to the confused look on Lisa's face.

The blonde girl once again proved to be disturbingly quick on the uptake as her face lit up in understanding, "The precog," she said knowingly. The thinker sounded mostly amused at the realization and a little impressed, but, not at all worried.

"I'll help you get away from him. What were you looking for beyond that?"

The almost constant half-smile on Lisa's face disappeared into something meaner. Taylor eyed the other cape cautiously, Skidmark's reaction to the last time Lisa had a similar look on her face fresh in her mind.

"I want to end him."

"How do you want to do that?" She asked, skirting around the other girl's dark declaration.

The dangerous expression melted away into something more considering as the thinker thought about the problem. "He's been keeping me close at hand like I said. I probably don't have much more time to talk to you before he checks in on me. This conflict between the ABB and the Empire is probably the best time to make a move. While he's distracted with planning and coordinating everyone."

Taylor hummed in response, thinking about what Lisa had said. It made sense.

"You said something about his power being subtle, does he have any other allies or employees?"

Frustration crossed Lisa's face. "I'm starting to get closer to the center of things," she said, not really explaining anything. "I've been able to get more now that he's kept me so close, but he knows that I have which is why he'll never let me go."

"Slow down. What are you talking about?"

"His plans," Lisa said agitatedly. "He wants to take over the city, but, I haven't been able to figure out how. He has a few more independents working for him that I know of, but not all of them know that they're working for him. He's got others too, but I haven't been able to figure out who yet.."

"Taking over the city?" Taylor asked, not able to fully hide her skepticism. "His ability is really that powerful?"

"His power's useful, but not that good," Lisa answered darkly. "He calls it destiny manipulation, and that is what he tells most people he hires, but that's all bullshit. Smoke and mirrors. What he really does is he gets to choose between two timelines which he can continue or discard it will. It can be a pain to explain but you can basically think of it as him getting two chances at everything that he tries." Lisa groaned in frustration, rubbing at her face and wincing in pain, " What is more important right now though is his actual plan. I'm close to figuring it out and getting closer. I can't disappear until after I figure it out. It's too risky, even with your help. Now is my best chance to do it while he's keeping me close, and you need the information if you're going to try and take him down and protect the precog." Lisa rolled her eyes impatiently at the surprise from Taylor, "it was obvious that's why you were after him. I didn't even need my power for that one. The best time for me to escape will probably be while we rescue The Lady's sister. He'll be busy coordinating efforts against the Empire and we'll only have to deal with the soldiers he's sending with us to act as guard dogs. Hopefully, I'll have figured out more of the details by then."

"Don't forget the New Wave member that Lady Photon is sending along," Taylor pointed out even as she thought about what the other girl was saying. It all seemed logical enough. Since Chemist would be a part of the rescue operation, she'd have to have a long talk with him to get him to agree with all of this. Taylor hoped that Dinah responded soon and that she hadn't overtaxed her abilities today for the Protectorate. She would like to have some sort of assurance that she could trust.

"Probably Gloryhole," Tattletale said with distaste. "The adult New Wave members will want to be involved in the heavy fighting, and they won't let one of the other kids alone with a villain. She's the least likely to get hurt if things went sour."

Taylor belatedly realized that 'Gloryhole' was probably an unflattering nickname that the villain had for Glory Girl. She was mentally questioning the sanity of the other cape calling somebody who people referred to as a 'Young Alexandria' that sort of nickname when Lisa continued talking.

"Luckily, she likely won't much care if a few of Coil's soldiers mysteriously disappear. Doubt she'll be happy to see me though," Lisa said, sounding oddly pleased at the thought.

Privately Taylor didn't think she'd be very happy to see someone who gave her that kind of nickname either. First meeting or no, Taylor wasn't ignorant to the way that Lisa seemed to enjoy messing with people's heads. Not that she was one to judge someone else for having trouble making friends.

"I should probably head out," Lisa sighed, ending the weighty silence that had followed the conclusion of their discussion.

Despite her words, she couldn't have looked more reluctant to actually follow through. The already exhausted and stressed girl seemed to age before her eyes at the prospect of going back to Coil. It was enough to make Taylor seriously consider throwing away their nascent plans and take her away from Coil right then. She hadn't thought that she could dislike Coil more after he had tried to kidnap Dinah and murdered her parents. With each new thing that she learned about the villain her distaste for the snake-themed cape grew.

"I appreciate the thought," Lisa said ruefully, picking up on the other girl's train of thought. "But we need to know what we're up against. Coil has access to tons of resources. Money, information, his soldiers, even the other capes I mentioned. I know that the Undersiders weren't the only cape group that he's looking to use for his plans. I'm not the only avenue he's pursued to get information on you either. If we're going to go up against someone like him, we need to know what we're up against." Lisa let out a last tired sigh before composing herself. With admirable swiftness the exhaustion and stress dissipated from her face and stance, replaced by the easy confidence of the villain that had taken a spot at the table during the Conclave.

With a quick step forward Lisa gave Taylor a fierce hug. Taylor tensed at the unexpected action, her arms wrapping around the shorter girl of their own accord.

"Thank you."

Giving the taller girl one last squeeze, Lisa stepped away from the hero and left. Taylor barely noticed, trying to shake herself out of the shock from the villain's hug.

"You're welcome?" She half said half asked the now empty alleyway.

Her head was spinning as she walked over to where Greg was standing guard at the alleyway's entrance. In one night she'd gone to a secret meeting called by the villain who murdered Dinah's parents, and probably wanted to kill her as well. To get information on him, she'd agreed to work with and help another self-admitted villain and work against him. Being a hero was blurring a lot more lines and complicating a lot more things than she thought it would. Whatever happened to showing up, punching the villains, and saving the day?

"How'd it go?" Greg asked, looking up from his screen and stopping what he was doing when she allowed her footsteps to be heard.

"Strangely," Taylor replied honestly as she gathered the little blue toad that had been accompanying the tinker with his guard duties. Settling the toad back onto her shoulder, Taylor continued, "But I have another lead on Coil. And a potential ally once we help her with her situation."

"So we're working with the villain?" Greg asked incredulously.

A chime from her phone interrupted her before she could reply. Fishing the phone out of her pocket she checked the new message.

 **From: Oracle**

 **To: Jiraiya**

 **Message: 91.4667%. Tell me what you learn. Thank you.**

Locking her phone and slipping it back into her battle coat Taylor rolled her shoulders to shake out the stiffness. "Yes," she said in answer to the tinker's exasperated questions. "It looks like we are."

"Great," the chemical tinker said resignedly, "I can only see good things coming from this." Despite his words, the cape didn't disagree with her any further, willing to follow Taylor's lead.

"There's a lot to explain," she said in an attempt to assuage his skepticism. "And Tattletale is more than she seems. And she needs our help. Sticking it to Coil is just an added bonus. Who knows?" Taylor pondered aloud, "Maybe it will all turn out fine."

Greg stared at her for a long moment before breaking out into raucous laughter.

Taylor frowned at the other cape. It wasn't that impossible to believe was it? The tinker only laughed harder when she voiced the thought aloud.

* * *

 **AN –** Alright. This was a long one. Longest chapter in the story so far actually. I'd like to take a second to note that with this chapter, this story now cracks 100k words. Never thought I'd stick with something for that lon. Kinda cool. Also cool, is that with the last chapter, this story has cracked 300 reviews. I was honestly expecting not mouch more than 1/3 of that. Worm is unfortunately a rather niche fandom. I really appreciate the support and interest this story has gotten so far, so thank you.

Enough of that though, let's talk about what really matters. We got to see a lot of cape interaction in which Taylor was just peripherally involved with, got some time with Tattletale and somehow managed to avoid attaching the words foxlike or sly to her. I had to take a mental shower after writing Skidmark. Tentative plans for the gang war and some more info on Hisako/Painted Lady. We also learned more of TT's situation (no bueno apparently), as well as what happened to the Undersiders (worse bueno). But Taylor's agreed to help! She takes the whole hero thing seriously I guess. Greg/Chemist is understandably skeptical of it all.

Hope you guys all enjoyed it! :] Let me know how you guys think/feel about it, and as always, all thoughts, inputs, reactions, etc… are appreciated


	27. Interlude 4-a: ABB

Interlude 4.a: ABB

 **The Painted Lady (Hisako)**

Hisako stared at herself in the mirror as she carefully painted her lips and applied her eyeliner. She paused, and waited patiently for the snake tattoo to slither across her face and resumed once her face was bare of animals. Once completed she stared at her features in the mirror.

She was beautiful.

It wasn't arrogance that caused her to think that. Her appearance wasn't something that she took pride in, or felt one way or the other about. It was simply a fact, and the makeup was more a part of her costume than an attempt to emphasize her appearance. Hisako had been graced with high cheekbones and dark, almond-shaped eyes. With her shiny black hair and full lips, she possessed many of the features that were traditionally associated with beauty. The only thing that marred her otherwise pleasing features was the blank look that was her default expression. Hisako had learned from experience that her expression, or rather, her lack thereof, frequently unnerved people.

Hisako tried a smile, lips tugging up and facial muscles twitching into a facsimile of happiness. A frown replaced it moments later after a critical examination. It still needed work. Had her sister been there to practice with, Hisako was sure that the younger girl would have informed her it was a nice try, but still pretty creepy. Maybe try to crinkle her eyes along with the smile? For all her intelligence and skills, Hisako found it hard to emulate features that contained emotions she couldn't quite comprehend.

As Hisako moved through the room allotted to her in the ABB-owned apartment complex that was currently serving as the gang's main base of operations, she found that thinking of her sister caused her thoughts drift to her family.

Her parents had named her Hisako. In her native Japanese, her name meant long lived-child. She had the suspicion that her parents had come to regret blessing their first child with that particular omen. It probably explained why they'd chosen to grant a more western style name for their second and favored daughter.

She frightened her parents, unnerved them with her generally blank mien. Once, in her youth, a schoolyard bully had picked on her, teasing her for her then poor grasp of the English language. Hisako had pushed him off of the jungle gym during recess and broke his arm in two places. She hadn't felt a thing. Not the slightest bit of guilt or horror that even at such a young age she knew a normal person would feel. Hisako discovered later on that she had little concern for the pain that she caused others. Her parents had been horrified. They'd sought doctor after doctor, therapists and neurologists, searching for an answer as to what was wrong with their daughter. Eventually, after multiple visits to a therapist, Hisako had been diagnosed with a Type II Personality Disorder.

Ironically, finally finding an explanation for their daughter's queerness seemed to cause her parents even more distress than before. They'd distanced themselves from their daughter. Unable to properly deal with a child who did not, and was unable to, return the affection they wished to share with her. Hisako hadn't minded, generally preferring the solitude over trying to ape the proper social responses that she'd had little clue on how to fake at the time.

Her parents had thought of her as broken. She'd heard them once, talking when they thought she couldn't overhear. Her father sounded exhausted and her mother had been choking back tears. While Hisako knew logically that most would be devastated at such a thought, she remained ambivalent. Her parents were necessary quantities at her young age and nothing more.

However, she did not agree with their labeling. She was not broken. She was malformed. Defective since birth. To be broken implied that she'd once been whole. Hisako didn't mourn the loss of something that she'd never had and couldn't really understand. Hisako didn't think that she was capable of it, not feeling things the way a more normal person would. Remorse, guilt, love, horror, and other similar emotions were things that Hisako had trouble quantifying or even recognizing. Which wasn't to say she didn't feel, because she did, even if Hisako wasn't always sure what it was that she felt. It just wasn't in a similar way that other people felt. Even if Hisako usually found herself bored or uninterested in life and people in general, she found that certain things managed to prick at her underdeveloped feelings. Hisako felt satisfaction when she executed a perfect kata. She felt the closest thing that she associated with joy whilst in the middle of a fight. Violence spoke to her in a way that not much else did. She felt hatred and a desire to dispense violence to those that dared try to impede on her freedom.

Hisako hadn't felt anything at all, however, when a member of the ABB had caught wind of her being a cape and tried to force her to join them with a few of his fellow gang members. Telling them no, and breaking a wrist when one of them had tried to grab her and stop her from leaving, Hisako had been content for that to be the end of it. Aside from a burgeoning irritation that they'd take something of hers, she had been mostly apathetic when the same group of gang members murdered her parents once threats and intimidation had failed to yield them the results they'd desired. She found that little had changed in her life with their passing, though, she knew her sister mourned them still. If nothing else, for causing her sister to cry, Hisako had determined to show the idiots their error. Before she could show them her displeasure, the increasingly desperate group of ABB thugs had beaten her to the punch and taken her sister as leverage over her in a final gambit to gain control over the powerful master cape. Hisako had felt pure, unadulterated rage. She had murdered nine of the thugs before one of the more intelligent ABB members had thought to threaten her little sister in order to stop her slaughter of his fellows.

Hisako had to forcibly unclench her fist at the memory of her sister held at knifepoint by the panicked thug, tears flowing freely, mingling with the blood from one her messier kills splattered on her sister's cheek. Which led to her current situation as a member of the ABB. Hisako frequently made her displeasure with her situation known. Most of the unpowered thugs knew better to get in her way, always ready to take any excuse to express her irritation through violence. Lung was mostly uncaring of what his new cape did as long as she followed orders and as long as she didn't overreach.

Even so, despite the potential risk of reprisal, she had killed the man that had held her sister at knifepoint and stopped her from killing the rest of the gang members who'd been present during the kidnapping. Some of the tension in her shoulders eased as she recalled the former gang member's demise. Hisako had attended to him personally, not content to merely let one of her animals do the job. Dark satisfaction curled in her abdomen as she remembered the way the man had pleaded for mercy. He had made her sister cry, so Hisako had done the same to him before she'd allowed him to die.

Despite the dark path her mind had wandered, thoughts of her sister helped to settle the boiling anger that simmered when she thought about her current gang.

Her parents had gotten far luckier with their second child. Her little sister was intelligent and mature for her years, sharing many of the beautiful features of her older sister while also possessing the vivaciousness to enhance her looks into something warm as opposed to Hisako's own distant, dangerous allure. Readily able to reciprocate the affection her relieved parents had lavished upon her.

Initially, Hisako had little interest in her little sister aside from noting their differences as children. Their parents often doted on her younger sister, overwhelmed with relief at having the normal child they had desired and failed to receive with their first daughter. Her little sister had been hurt at her distance at first. Too young to understand what was wrong with her older sibling or why her parents often encouraged the younger girl to do things separately from the older girl. Hurt at the rejection, her little sister had decided to spurn Hisako in return, deciding that if her older sister didn't need her, then she didn't need her older sister either. It wasn't until her teenage years that Hisako's little sister made another effort to get close to her older sibling. Bemused, and a little curious, Hisako had allowed her little sister to try and form a relationship with her.

As they spent time together, Hisako found to her surprise that she actually didn't mind the added presence in her daily life. Her little sister was patient with Hisako's frequent stumbles and confusion in social situations. Taking the time to explain why others felt and acted like they did even if Hisako couldn't relate. She had even taken the time to try and teach her older sibling how to emulate the emotions and expressions that came so naturally to everyone else, reasoning that if she could fake social interaction well enough, people would be less likely to treat her badly. Hisako herself didn't particularly care too much what others thought of her, but nonetheless was aware that being able to fake her way through social situations could only be to her advantage.

Eventually, after months of shared interaction, the younger girl had gained the confidence to confront her difficult to understand elder sibling. Hisako remembered being confused at the stubborn tilt of her little sister's jaw as the younger girl struggled to say her piece. Puzzled, but willing to listen, she'd prompted the younger girl to speak. Her sister crossed her arms defensively, but nonetheless spoke, looking up at Hisako with something that the older sibling tentatively labeled as earnestness.

"I love you Hisako," her younger sister had declared boldly. The younger girl ignored the surprised widening of her older sister's eyes and continued, emboldened by finally finding the bravery to speak her mind. "I know that you can't return my feelings in the same way," her sister admitted, "I've done a lot of reading on your situation. But even if you can't feel the same way, or you don't understand how or why I feel the way that I do, you are my sister, and I promise that I will always love you," she declared, meeting Hisako's eyes boldly. Hisako stared at the younger girl strangely, not really sure how to respond. Her younger sister was unbothered by the tepid response to her declaration. Stepping forward, she wrapped her arms around the confused Hisako who tentatively reciprocated the action. Taking a step back, she shot her older sister one last smile before exiting the room.

Hisako had stared after her younger sister. She didn't really understand what prompted her sister to say those things, or why she would be okay that Hisako didn't feel the same way. Her sister's sudden admission didn't grant the older girl sudden understanding of what the younger girl felt. She was right when she said that Hisako couldn't return her feelings properly. Bringing her hand up to her heart, Hisako lowered her gaze from the door down to her hand. She wouldn't call it love, she didn't think she was capable of such a thing, not from the way it was described to her, but Hisako tentatively labeled the emotion welling up within her towards her sister as affection, or maybe fondness. Perhaps neither were quite accurate, she supposed that she couldn't really say with any certainty. Lowering her hand, she tried to pin down how she felt about what had just happened. Interested Hisako finally decided. Something new.

Hisako finished adorning the kimono that made up her cape costume and dragged her thoughts back to the present. One sleeve empty as was her habit, leaving her arm which was currently housing the Chinese dragon tattoo bare to give herself more access for skin contact to utilize her tattoos. Her face eased back to its habitual blankness, smoothing out the small upward quirk of her lips that had accompanied the memory of her sister's awkward declaration.

Leaving her room, she wandered throughout the base of operations in search of Lung to get her orders for the day. The satisfaction she felt at the way that the ABB members scrambled to get out of her way only partially eased the gall she felt at taking orders from somebody else. Her irritation descended into something decidedly more dangerous at the discovery that Lung wasn't in the base. She would normally enjoy such an event, but not when she learned of it from the ABB's tinker who had been tasked with conveying the ABB leader's command to the master cape in his absence.

Hisako listened with disinterest as Bakuda relayed Lung's orders for her with regards to their current fight against the Empire. She was far more interested in contemplating the best way to put a halt to the other woman's irritating voice. Bakuda somehow managed to convey the entirety of her arrogance when she spoke, which clashed horribly with the natural, irritating grating quality of the woman's voice. Hisako was mentally debating between several methods to silence the other woman as the tinker continued talking, making sure to convey that Hisako's efforts were nothing in comparison to the tinker's own contributions and genius.

Perhaps she would slit the tinker's throat. Watching Bakuda gurgle on her own blood as she struggled to release another syllable in her irritating voice would be almost poetic. Strangling had its benefits as well Hisako considered in an effort to be fair. She just couldn't decide if hearing the bomb tinker flounder to gasp her final words would be satisfying, or if having to hear more of Bakuda's voice would just cause her further irritation. Something of Hisako's thoughts must have lurked beneath her flat affect because the bomb tinker paused in her pompous speech and gave the other cape a wary look. Hisako's dark eyes glittered at the way Bakuda couldn't quite cover her sudden unease through a sneer. Wrapping up her speech and claiming her genius was needed back in her lab, the bomb tinker beat a hasty retreat and left Hisako to her own devices.

Hisako stared after the closed door that the other cape had disappeared behind in consideration. Perhaps after she found where they were holding her sister, Bakuda would be the first to die. The tinker wouldn't be the last, though. They'd taken the only person that Hisako could claim to like in this world. Hisako's sister belonged to her. For attempting to steal her away, none of them would survive. Her mind busied with such soothing thoughts, Hisako left the base to fulfill her orders.

* * *

 **Bakuda**

"Creepy bitch," she muttered to herself as she made her way back to her workshop. Lung was playing with fire with that one she decided inwardly, ignoring Oni Lee standing against the wall as she resumed her work. Bakuda scoffed mentally at the futility of having Oni Lee assigned to watch over her and her work. Lung's effort to make sure she didn't go 'overboard' with her work after she'd suggested implanting her bombs into people to get new recruits. As if the brain dead assassin could hope to decipher even the smallest aspect of her genius. Her bombs were works of art. Not something the cloner could hope to appreciate, let alone understand.

Bakuda's mouth stretched into an unkind grin as she beheld her latest masterpiece. About the size of a tennis ball, sleek in shape and smooth in design, it was a pure demonstration of her intelligence and ability to crack the inner workings of how things functioned. This particular beauty had two parts. The first detonation would peel away the skin's three layers of every living thing within 12 feet of the bomb. A second detonation would occur after a 10-second delay to give her victims the chance to appreciate her work which would finish what the first detonation had started, scraping them down to bone, or any other hard surface. She had combined her studies of the Manton Effect, and the disintegration effect that happened to the clones that Oni Lee left behind after teleportation as the basis for its creation. Sighing in satisfaction, Bakuda turned her attention away from the newly completed bomb and moved onto her still broken grenade launcher.

The bomb tinker bit back a snarl as she got back to work. She'd been putting off fixing it for too long. Every time she tried to begin repairing the weapon her hands would start shaking with rage and she'd distract herself trying to design and build the best ways to punish those kids for her embarrassing defeat. Especially the toad bitch and that wannabe tinker. Chemicals had nothing on her bombs. It grated to be near another tinker, a cape who could build and design impossibilities when that snot nosed brat was nothing compared to herself. She'd been a genius before she'd triggered, and her natural intelligence only made her stronger. That little shit had probably barely been able to tie his own shoes before he'd triggered and won the lottery by becoming a tinker. Bakuda itched to show him the true divide between their abilities.

That would come later she consoled herself. The wannabe chemist would regret thinking he could match her brilliance, and the toad girl would come to regret coming to his rescue. And maybe once this little war with the Empire was over, and Lung had finished destroying her opposition, she would be able to expand into even bigger creations. Truly delve into and explore her genius. She had yet to decide what type of bomb she would scale up, but with a little time and focus the tinker was sure that she would be able to make something more beautiful and perfect than anything that she had designed so far. Something to make the Protectorate in their shiny towers shake. Bakuda hummed contentedly as she continued her repairs, her genius, and Lung's strength would ensure that nobody would be able to stand up to the ABB. Not Kaiser, not the Protectorate, no one.

* * *

 **Bushido**

Jason Yoshida crawled out of the cold shower provided to him in the tiny containment cell. Cold air constantly flowed through the room, chilling him causing goosebumps to erupt on his flesh as it moved over his dripping body. If he could get some hot water he might be able to get some steam going, but considering the rest of the precautionary measures in place it seemed futile. Everything in the room appeared as if it had been specifically designed to resist his great strength. Not that he had been able to test it out, the thought was paired with a resentful look at the silver sphere the size of a beach ball hanging from the ceiling.

Coming to a rest beneath the reflected metal surface of the sphere, he examined his distorted features with a frown. He'd never be called handsome. His features were too blunt for such a description, looking more thuggish than anything else. His hair, shaved to a stubble close to his scalp emphasized his natural brutishness. But something like looks hardly mattered to him. When he had become a cape, he'd learned the truth of things. Appearance, money, relationships, none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered in this world was power. Lung had burned that lesson into his bones. An ugly smile appeared on the brutes face as he gazed at the massive scar in his reflection. Burned into his throat and upper chest was the monstrous hand of the most powerful creature he'd ever known. Lung may play at being a man, but the scar that had ruined his voice given to him by Lung during their fight gave lie to that illusion.

Lung had appeared to him alone short months after he'd gained his powers and started making himself known in his area. Jason had known who the man was immediately. Few people hadn't heard of the man that had faced down a Protectorate team on his own. He smirked as he pulled on the shirt he had been given, covering the majority of his scar as he recalled the way that Lung had approached him.

"You will follow me," Lung had said when Bushido had noticed his approach.

Unconcerned at being alone, brazen in his shirtless appearance that showed off his dragon tattoos. He gave off the impression of immense power that was barely contained and constantly brimming beneath the surface. Lung hadn't come to recruit Bushido, he was there to inform his new underling of where his place was. It had been an inevitability in his eyes.

Bushido had been arrogant in his new strength, and content to work on his own. He'd refused Lung. Violently. It had not lasted long. His steam was useless in the face of Lung's own fire. His formidable strength was negligible when confronted by the vastness of Lung's own monstrous power. Eventually, Lung had transformed to a strength that he couldn't hope to match. The ABB leader had ended the fight and pinned down beneath the massive paw of a creature that was more dragon than man. The fire that Lung had called forth beneath his palm and used to scar his body had sealed the truth in Bushido's mind and soul. Lung was power.

Which was why the frequent interrogations and threats of the Birdcage did little to sway him to talk. Especially the last. He'd known he was destined for the cage were he to ever be caught. Threatening him with an inevitability was foolish. One thing the interrogations had done was enlighten him that their war with the Empire was in full swing. The knowledge made him itch, eager to go out and participate and show the Nazi dogs what true power was. And then he would find and finally end the Chemist and the Young Thunder. He did his best to tamp down his rising fury at thinking of the two heroes, his already hair trigger temper that he'd inherited from his father set off from thinking of the newest two people to have made their way on his list. One of whom had escaped him three times. Shaming him before Lung multiple times. And the other, the toad warrior who had helped the tinker and played a role in his capture. Consoling himself that Lung would not allow him to be sent to the Birdcage and that he would get another chance to go after the pair did little to soothe his wrath.

A flashing red light stopped the ABB enforcer before he could lose himself to his anger. Grunting in irritation he made his way to the center of his austere cell. He had no desire to be first shocked, then enveloped in the containment foam again by not heeding the light. He had learned that he could breathe freely through the foam somehow, but the sudden futility of his strength had been suffocating on its own. The door to his room was steel, and over a foot thick. It slid open in a soundless motion to reveal Armsmaster and Assault who greeted him on the other side of the no open gap.

"How are you doing big guy? The bruises from our Ward are finally fading huh?" Assault greeted, cheerfully ignoring the disapproving look from Armsmaster and the gritted snarl from the cape in question.

"I will melt the skin from his bones," he snarled, his voice a guttural mess from the injuries Lung had left him with during their battle.

Assault looked supremely unconcerned at the threat as Armsmaster intervened.

"That's not what we're here for," the tinker said disapprovingly to his fellow hero. "And," he continued, his voice hardening in a way that caused Bushido to eye the Protectorate leader warily despite himself, "if you threaten one of my wards again, containment foam will be the very least of your concerns."

Bushido grunted at that, "What do you want?" He demanded instead of responding to Armsmaster's words.

"You are being transported to the Birdcage tomorrow," Armsmaster informed him flatly. "Now is your last chance to contact with any family you may have. Is there anybody that you would like us to get in contact with?"

Jason Yoshida thought of his parents. His father, overworked and underpaid. Taking his frustrations out in a bottle and his family. His mother, a frail shell of a woman. Too meek and weak of spirit by far to survive life as a spouse to such a man. He had no use for either anymore.

"No one," he said, turning around and heading to his bed.

* * *

 **Next Day**

Bushido did his best to not show the increasing tension that was creeping on him as the van drove on. He was unable to move, his restraints prevented him from separating his arms, but around that was the PRT's vaunted containment foam, covering him completely up to his neck. Bushido had discovered that it was more than strong enough to resist his strength after straining against the strange restraint. Irritating, but ultimately unimportant since he was also surrounded by a thick steel cage that looked up to resisting his strength. It was infuriating, how many situations his strength proved to be useless since his capture. He was alone in the back of the vehicle. He could hear murmurs of PRT officers in the front compartment of the transport. Extra guards then. Seemed pointless in the face of all of their preventative measures that ensured he was unable to do anything but contemplate his future.

Bushido frowned as doubt crept in. He was doing his best not to dwell on the possibility that Lung might have deemed his recent shortcomings and failures as too much of an embarrassment to bother with his rescue.

Bushido's worries were interrupted by a humongous crash and the world tilting sideways as the PRT transport van rocked to its side from a tremendous impact. He could hear the PRT officers in the front cursing furiously, barking loudly into their radios as the moved around out of sight once van finally skidded to a stop on its side.

"What the fuck was that?" A youngish sounding voice asked, panic shining clear to Bushido's ears from the crack in his voice.

"Trying a breakout," the other replied, as the sounds of movement from the front began to quiet, "aim for the door," he ordered, sounding more put together than his colleague. "We'll greet whoever is trying to break him out with a face full of containment foam."

"Understood."

Bushido felt an anticipatory grin cross his face despite the awkward position he was forced into in the turned over van with his tinker-tech manacles bolted to the bench and the foam holding him in place. Lung had not left him to face the Birdcage. The smile diminished somewhat when he saw the metal of the van ripple at the front of the vehicle from the corner of his eyes, near the PRT agents.

Why did it have to be her?

"Don't worry rookie our backup will be here soon." the calmer voice spoke in an effort to reassure his more nervous partner, "We'll get through thi – gah!" The officer was interrupted by the sudden impact from behind. A large metal tiger burst from the van's wall and tore through the metal partition into the front, behind the two PRT officers.

"What the fu—," the hysterical shout of the younger PRT officer was interrupted when the tiger batted the man with a negligible swipe from its paw, sending the officer flying into the other side of the van with a sickening thud.

Bushido doubted the man survived the event without at least a few broken ribs. His attention was torn from the downed PRT officers by a light growl from the metal tiger who was staring at him with an unnerving hunger in its eyes. Bushido tensed despite himself, he was in no position to defend himself.

With a shriek of distressed metal, the doors of the van were forcibly ripped open by the stone arms of a massive ape. He heard a distant crash as the creature tossed the doors aside. The massive face of the creature peered into the van and gave a dismissive snort at the other ABB cape and standing back to let its creator through. The Painted Lady's blank face greeted him from the gaping hole where the van's doors used to be.

Bushido looked at the other cape warily when she simply stared at him with her empty features. The only glimpse of something that could be called emotion that the ABB brute could detect from the woman was disdain as she stared down at the captured cape.

Bushido held back a snarl at the slight. Hisako had always unnerved him. It wasn't because of her mutated emotions or how easily she resorted to violence. He knew that he was stronger than her. With his strength, he could easily break her in half. And with his steam, he could finish her at a distance as well. And yet she never acknowledged the power he held over her. How easily he could end her. Instead staring at him with her empty gaze, a glimmer of something dark lurking beneath the surface as though she were contemplating a dozen different ways to end him. She didn't make sense.

"Well, get me out already," he demanded in his ragged voice, unable to take the continued stare down. Hisako continued to stare at him, expression unchanging as she contemplated the scene before her.

A screech erupted causing Bushido to curse harshly, wishing his hands were free to clap over his ears. He looked to the source of the noise, the metal tiger had unsheathed its claws and flexed them, causing great furrows to be scored into the van beneath its feet. It was glaring at him with all of the emotions that weren't apparent on its creator's face, panting in eagerness.

Starting to feel truly desperate, he spoke the only thing that he could think of to stop the other cape.

"You haven't found her yet, have you?" He bluffed, hoping nothing had changed since his captivity.

The tiger stilled at his words, looking more like a sculpture now than a beast. He tensed a little when Hisako's eyes narrowed slightly, leaning back when she reached into the sleeve of her kimono. The tension was paired with confusion when she withdrew a small black disk no bigger than a golf ball. Approaching the captured cape, Hisako reached through the bars of the cage and placed the disk next to his head where it began to flash an alarming red. His face twisted into a snarl of defiance, he wasn't sure what the device did, but he wouldn't give the bitch the satisfaction of seeing his fear before he died. Three seconds after the flashing began, the tiny bomb gave off a sharp crack and disintegrated into dust along with everything that was binding him. Slowly, he made his way back to his feet from where he'd crashed down onto the floor. He rubbed his aching wrists, noting with some alarm that the bomb had disintegrated part of the van as well. The ABB brute made sure to keep an eye on the tiger which was shooting him a disappointed glare before padding over to its creator who patted it on the head. A tattoo of a tiger flowed up her arm through her fingertips leaving behind a metal statue.

"Bitch," he muttered to himself, watching as she walked away without a backward glance. He stood up to his full height and cracked his neck in appreciation at being able to finally stretch out.

Stepping out of the van he winced at the piercing sunlight. Once adjusted, he took in the damage. The van was completely wrecked, an absolutely massive ape made of concrete was glaring down at him. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the downed forms of Battery and Velocity on the side of the road. He had been wondering where the cape escort had been during the confrontation. A serpent made of gasoline was coiled on the downed speedster's chest, ready to blind and suffocate him should it sense the hero returning to consciousness, while Battery lay unmoving with a red tear running up one of her legs and an arm bent in an unnatural manner.

A rusty chuckle escaped his throat as he felt the sun cheerfully beamed down warmth onto his nude body. It was a good day to be free.

* * *

 **Lung**

Lung leaned back in his La-Z-boy armchair as he considered the laptop and the open file laying on the table before him. One of Coil's mercenaries had delivered it to one of his men. Idly, he wondered what the young Jiraiya had done to anger the snake.

Reaching, he grabbed the folder even though he'd memorized the contents already. It contained the time and route for the real van transporting Bushido to the Birdcage, as well as the routes for the two decoy vans. He'd made use of that information already, sending Hisako to fetch his subordinate. He frowned in displeasure at the reminder of Bushido's recent blunders. He would have to deal with that when he next saw him.

Along with the details of Bushido's transportation to the Birdcage was a file on Jiraiya. He frowned as he skimmed it, glancing at the picture in the corner. A big name for such a small girl. There wasn't too much, just a list of the toads she's been seen using and their observed abilities. The girl was still relatively new to the cape scene. At the bottom was the login information to access the tracking device that Coil had somehow managed to slip onto the girl. The GPS device wasn't always on, but he had access to where it had been before it had been shut off.

The implication was obvious, and Lungs frown deepened into something more foreboding as he considered it. It was a trade. Bushido's freedom for the girl's death.

He stared at the television as he thought on what to do. The war with the Empire was progressing slowly, but, he wasn't worried about them. There was nobody in Kaiser's employ that could hope to stand against him for long, and those that had a chance against him before he transformed were vulnerable to Oni Lee. His strength would crush them.

Lung made his decision as his show went to commercial. He would use the information to end the girl. Not because Coil wanted him too though. But because she had handed his capes multiple defeats. An attack on the ABB was an attack on Lung. And Lung always repaid his debts. After he dealt with the girl, and finished off the Kaiser and his so-called Empire, he would deal with Coil. The snake should have known better than to try and bend a dragon to his will. Lung acted only on his own terms.

Lung reclined back into his chair as his show resumed. Coil would learn of that truth before he died.

* * *

 **AN -** Okay, so now felt like a good time for an interlude. Right after the meeting and before all of the fighting. So, we get a look into the ABB side of things. This also let me add to the characterization of the OC capes aside from "angry samurai guy" and "cold tattoo lady." Hope you like the various POVs in this chapter and what you learned about the OC's. And then of course we also got to see some of Coil's scheming, the dick.

Finally, the last chapter got a lot of response. Which is great. I also received quite a few messages about new readers to the story which is excellent. Glad you all are finding something of interest in this story. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, let me know what you though.

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, let me know what you thought.


	28. Escalation 4-8

Escalation 4.8

Taylor bit back a curse as she ducked and rolled under a brilliant beam of light. Her recovery was interrupted by the impact of the powerful concussive blast. Struggling to her feet, she looked on in relief as Lady Photon and her children, Laserdream and Shielder, took on the unenviable task of dealing with Purity. Taylor internally thanked them as she ducked under a sloppy blow from an ABB thug who tried to take advantage of her stumble and responded by stabbing her stiffened fingers at his neck. She wasn't meant for air battles, and where the hell was her team she wondered, absently tagging the ABB thug who was clutching his throat and gasping for breath with her taser.

This was a disaster. She had been teamed up with New Wave, Chemist, and the two of Merchant capes. The alliance had gotten information that the Empire was gathering in the area. The plan had been to strike while they had the element of surprise and stop the Empire from accomplishing whatever it was they were gathering for. What they hadn't expected was for the ABB to show up and start a brawl in broad daylight with civilians present. What had begun as a precision strike force had devolved into a three-way brawl between the Empire, the ABB, and the Alliance who were sick of both of them in the middle of downtown.

Taylor's teeth bared in a snarl behind her mask when she saw that two Empire thugs were harassing a Latina woman, they had apparently decided the battle was too much for them and went looking for easier prey amongst the panicking innocents. She took after them in a sprint, goaded on by the woman's panicked screaming when the two thugs grabbed the terrified lady. Taylor twirled around an obstructing ABB member's wild swing and continued her forward motion. The Asian thug didn't get a chance to curse the fleeing hero for her cowardice as he was suddenly grabbed by an ever growing golem made of trash and refuse. He barely had a time for a panicked scream before Mush clenched the hand holding the gang member into a fist, silencing him permanently.

Taylor cursed when one of the thugs slammed a punch into the screaming woman's gut, turning her screams into a desperate wheeze. Anger flared at the laughter coming from the Empire member's partner. Reaching into one of the many pockets that Parian had sewn into her coat, she pulled out a pair of small blades that glittered in the sunlight. They were smaller than the kunai a lot of her toads favored, ending in a snub nose as opposed to a hilt, with a smaller, flatter blade designed to be aerodynamic. They wouldn't do much for her in a hand to hand fight and the blade would never hold up to a proper weapon. They were intentionally designed to be discarded. As such, they were much easier to throw than the kunai or more exotic weaponry a lot of her toads preferred, which Tayor was thankful for as she sent them whipping towards the two thugs.

Even with the many lessons from her toads and with Kichi finally approving her to use the throwing knives in real life situations, she still wasn't the best with them. One of the blades was on the mark, impacting cleanly into the shoulder of one of the Empire gangsters who gave a startled shout of pain from the unexpected blow. The other knife missed entirely, but the flash of metal whipping past the uninjured thug's face was enough to distract Empire member from manhandling his victim.

"What the fuck was th –,"

Taylor didn't give him a chance to finish voicing his confusion, launching herself and pressing her knees into his back, she rode the confused and panicking thug into the ground and slammed his face mercilessly into the cement. A vicious satisfaction curled through her gut at the crunch of a broken nose. She had no doubt that they would have done far worse to the woman.

"You cunt! I'll kill you," the thug who had gotten hit with her knife snarled in defense of his fellow Empire member.

Taylor rolled off of the unconscious thug to avoid a heavy kick from the still standing Empire gangster, now on all fours, the toad summoner lashed out backwards with her foot, hitting the skinhead's knee with a sickening crack. The Empire member screamed in pain and fell to the ground, clutching at his destroyed knee in agony. Taylor scrambled back to her feet quickly and silenced the wailing Empire member, striking out with brutal precision, her fist hitting his temple with a meaty thwack that sent the distressed skinhead into unconsciousness. She took a second to get her breathing back under control and mentally thank Kichi for insisting that she add some range to her arsenal. Throwing knives weren't much compared to guns but they did the job. Infinitely less lethal too depending on where she hit someone, she noted as she rolled over the unconscious thug and retrieved her knife from his flesh, leaving behind a weeping, but non-critical wound.

"Thank you," a dazed voice penetrated her thoughts.

Whipping around defensively, Taylor felt an embarrassed heat rise in her cheeks when she found herself confronted with the shell-shocked woman that the Empire gangsters had accosted.

'Head in the game' she chastised herself mentally even as she offered what she hoped was a comforting smile that was mostly lost behind the mask, "You're welcome," she said as gently as she could in their current surroundings.

"What's happening?" The woman's voice was slowly degenerating from dazed to terrified as she absorbed the chaotic melee. The woman flinched violently as another of Purity's blasts detonated with a crash of thunder worryingly close.

"You need to leave," Taylor told the woman, already going through the motions of a summoning before the woman became paralyzed with fear slamming her palm to the ground, quickly she nodded a hasty greeting to her new summon. A toad about five feet in height and clad head to toe in armor croaked in greeting. Instead of a weapon, the amphibian chose to wield a shield almost as tall as it was to battle. "Get her to safety," she ordered the armor-clad toad, "and then help any other noncombatant you can get out of here."

The toad ribbited in understanding and grabbed the startled and confused woman before leaping off. Taylor ignored the lady's panicked shout as she surveyed the battlefield. Oni Lee was everywhere at once, with a seemingly unending supply of grenades, blades, and bullets, he teleported throughout the battle, a lethal phantom always just out of reach from reprisal. Taylor winced when one of the grenades the teleporting cloner dropped liquefied an Empire thug. He had some of Bakuda's bombs as well then.

Purity thankfully seemed to have her hands full dealing with the three New Wave flyers. She was stronger than all of them combined, but the Empire blaster seemed to have some difficulty dealing with their teamwork. Kichi was having a rematch with Rune, who seemed to be faring much better this time around now that she wasn't surprised by the toad's appearance and abilities. Chemist and the two present Merchants were focusing on the unpowered thugs whose numbers vastly outweighed all of the capes combined. Lastly, and most unpleasantly of all was Bushido. Taylor had no idea what he was doing here and not in PRT custody, but she wasn't happy about it. The only good news was that the red armored cape hadn't managed to get his hands on another steam pack. It was probably tinker-tech and not easy to replace. Good news might be putting it a bit strongly Taylor admitted privately, he was still a huge armored brute, steam or no.

Enough standing around she scolded herself clenching the bloodied knife. Her battle coat fluttered behind her as she set off in a sprint, heading toward where Chemist was protecting a group of unlucky salary men from the chaos. She was careful to edge around the Merchants at a discrete distance. Temporary allies or not, Mush was currently grappling with Bushido and she didn't want to get anywhere near the two without a heavy hitting toad at her side. As if prompted by her thoughts, she heard the Merchant leader's voice shout over the sound of combat and gunfire.

"Bring it you pussies! Do you know how you're fucking with?"

Skidmark's rotted teeth were bared in a snarl as he faced down a squad of Empire thugs. They decided to combine their efforts to try and take down the Merchant leader. At Skidmark's loud boasting, the group of Empire skinheads charged the Merchant leader. Taylor skidded to a stop and headed in Skidmark's direction to aid her temporary ally.

It was unneeded.

Skidmark's snarl became a triumphant, almost maniacal grin as group of thugs slowed, and struggled to advance against some invisible force. Confused, Taylor then noticed something on the ground. A line of energy, or something, Taylor wasn't sure, marked a line of blue that shifted into red. The line of something marked the area that the Empire thugs were trying and failing to penetrate. Skidmark gestured at the struggling Empire goons, placing more of his fields under and behind the outmatched thugs.

Skidmark crossed his arms in satisfaction and let loose a bellowing laugh as the group of Empire skinheads were flung violently away and pinned against the wall of a nearby building with bone crushing finality.

"That's fucking right bitches!" He shouted at the downed Empire thugs, none of whom were able to appreciate the smugness in Skidmark's voice. "Fuck!" He squawked, ducking ungracefully to avoid a passing swipe from Oni Lee.

Taylor made a mental note to not underestimate the Merchant as she resumed her journey to meet up with Chemist. Apparently Skidmark had some hidden depths that she had been previously unaware of.

"How are you doing?"

Taylor, for perhaps the hundredth time found herself thankful for the training and conditioning the toads had subjected her too which ensured her breathing was even and her voice uninterrupted from the activity. She nodded to the armored toad she'd summoned previously as he escorted the two people Chemist had been protecting away from the fighting.

Chemist, in lieu of answering, clenched his hands which were suddenly grasping newly created chem balls and launched them in an arc. Taylor traced their movement as the two chemballs impacted in the middle of the largest concentration of brawling ABB and Empire gang members. The tinker's creations deployed thick clouds of colorful smoke that spread unusually quickly, fully concealing the alarmed gangsters.

"Fine," he answered with a satisfied tone after observing his work. "This is crazy," he continued more seriously as he eyed the situation critically. "Your toads and New Wave managed to get most of the citizens to safety, but this has to stop."

"Protectorate should be on their way," Taylor offered, observing the battle, wincing when Bushido heaved and slammed Mush into the ground. She glanced up to make sure that they were still safe from Purity, and was relieved to find that Glory Girl had joined her family members. It looked like a matter of time before they got Purity now.

"Empire and ABB reinforcements too," he responded cynically to her earlier observation.

"Then we better finish this quickly," she responded a little annoyed, turning to face the tinker only to be confronted by a red demon mask. Her eyes widened in shocked panic as the Oni Lee clone crumbled into ash leaving behind a grenade in its wake.

With a strength and speed fueled by unadulterated desperation, she whipped out a lightning-quick kick at the grenade sending the explosive away from them and tackled a startled Chemist onto the ground just in time.

The detonation was massive, far too large for a regular grenade. A shock wave exploded from the device followed by a wave of fire that rolled outwards a few feet above the prone pair. Taylor lay on the ground stunned, ears ringing and her vision blurry. Her thoughts were swimmingly drunkenly, coherence just out of reach. A small still intact part of her mind was relieved that she used contacts instead of lenses when out in costume. A pained groan next to her served to let her know that Chemist was still alive.

"That sucked," he moaned.

Taylor rolled over onto her back and stared at the figures battling in the sky unable to respond. His voice sounded off. As if the tinker was much farther away than he really was. Probably had something to do with the ringing in her ears she thought dazedly.

"It wasn't like the movies at all," he complained. "I thought it would be way cooler," he continued plaintively.

Taylor groaned as she rolled onto her knees and staggered up to her feet if only to make him shut up. Distantly Taylor noted that she'd somehow managed to keep a hold of her knife during the blast. Finally upright, the battered hero had to stop and adjust to the new position, waiting until the world stopped spinning before she moved over to help the tinker up.

"Tinkers suck," she muttered to herself as she grabbed his armored hand and pulled her partner up to his feet.

"I resent that," Chemist protested half-heartedly.

She was relieved to note that he was sounding a lot more coherent now that he was back on his feet.

"Question," he continued when the summoner didn't respond. "Why didn't Lee finish us off while we busy being exploded?"

Taylor stiffened at the very good question looking around to try and get a bead on the teleporter.

"Oh, that's why," Chemist said to himself at the same time Taylor got a bead on the ABB assassin.

"Told you they would come," she told the tinker for lack of anything better to say as the independent heroes watched Armsmaster's battle with the teleporter. The Protectorate leader was incredibly skilled, somehow reacting to the assassins moves almost before he made them, never being caught off guard by Oni Lee's surprise attacks. His signature halberd revealed a seemingly unending arsenal of gadgets as needed. Off to the side Miss Militia was laying down suppressing fire with a dangerous looking gun on the large group of thugs who'd fought their way free of Chemist's smoke bombs. The newly visible thugs looked like they'd rather be back in the smoke than facing down the hail of rubber bullets Miss Militia was mercilessly sending their way.

"Looks like the Merchants are ditching."

Taylor frowned when she noticed the truth of Chemist's statement. It seemed the appearance of Protectorate heroes the final straw for the drug dealing capes.

"You two okay?"

Chemist jumped and let loose a startled curse at the sound of Gamakichi's voice and sudden appearance while Taylor greeted her partner with a nod.

"Then we better get back into it and help," Taylor responded to the tinker's observation, moving as she spoke to make her way back to the fight. "Help Militia with the thugs," she directed, "you're better suited for crowd control."

"Right," Chemist agreed, shooting the orange toad an irritated look and splitting off from the toad summoner to reinforce the protectorate hero.

"What happened to Rune?"

"Glory Girl's taking over," the toad who was sporting a nasty bruise on his shoulder replied as he gave his summoner a scrutinizing look for not answering his question.

Taylor cocked her head, feeling a warmth that she associated with her toads disappearing from her mind. The toad she'd summoned earlier had returned to Myoboku, hopefully that meant the innocents were safe. She bit her lip, tracking her tinker ally's movements, noticing that Chemist looked a little shaky in his movement, but didn't have the time to dwell on it. Bushido was making his way to join Oni Lee against Armsmaster.

Well, she couldn't let Armsmaster's face two villains and just watch. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the knife still stained with the Empire thug's blood whistling towards the brute. She didn't expect it to hurt the man, but the small knife deflecting off of his crimson armor was successful in getting the ABB enforcer's attention.

"You," he snarled in recognition, the sound of his voice just as guttural and awful as she remembered.

"Me," she agreed flatly, drawing her tanto as Kichi blasted him with a bullet of wind, sending the unprepared brute flying backward in an awkward tumble.

"No no, stick around. We're just starting to get to know each other," Kichi mocked the downed cape with a snicker.

"I'll kill you," Bushido snarled as he got himself back onto a knee.

"Ready sis?" Kichi asked, drawing his own larger blade.

"Let's go," she agreed, sprinting toward the ABB enforcer.

Gamakichi gave a throaty chuckle and launched himself upwards with a powerful jump, peppering the brute with small blasts of wind while in midair.

Taylor came to a sudden stop right at the edge of Bushido's reach and did a shuffling hop backwards to avoid the fist slamming into pavement where she'd been previously with great force. She used the large armored fist and launched herself upward, snapping a vicious kick into the side of the samurai cape's head, her foot rocking into his helmet with a harsh clang. Bushido grunted in pain and flung his arm out in a clumsy swipe while shaking his head to try and regain his focus.

Taylor smoothly stepped out of the way of the brute's awkward blow. She'd noticed that the last time they'd fought. The ABB enforcer was overly reliant on his enhanced strength and steam, having little in the way of skill or finesse, preferring to back his foes into a corner with steam till he could get his hands on them. As she kept just outside of the brute's reach she internally marveled that she could tell the difference between a skilled fighter and an untrained thug. The toads really knew what they were doing she thought as she whipped another knife at Bushido, this time finding a gap in his armor. He ripped the blade out of his shoulder with a scoff, more irritated than in pain.

"Is that the best you ca –,"

So focused on her, Bushido was wide open when Gamakichi launched his powerful tongue at the ABB cape's unprotected side, denting his armor and sending him sprawling.

"Don't even know why I drew my sword for him," Kichi commented airily, prodding the downed cape with the weapon in question. "That was anticlimactic," he continued, turning to face his summoner.

With a swiftness that was almost shocking for somebody his size, Bushido launched himself onto his feet lacing his hands together, he swung his arms in a crushing hammer blow at the distracted toad.

The widening of his summoner's eyes was the only warning Gamakichi had, even then he was almost quick enough to escape. Despite the ninja toad's speed, Gamakichi was clipped mid jump by Bushido's blow and sent sprawling into the air, landing in harshly onto the pavement in an awkward tangle of limbs.

Taylor's heart clenched painfully at the sight. She made an aborted attempt to go check on her partner but wasn't given the chance as Bushido rushed towards her. He was moving awkwardly, his injury and the dented armor from Kichi's attack clearly hindering the brute. Taylor's fist clenched painfully around the hilt of her blade as she glared down the oncoming cape. This was the second time that Bushido had injured one her toads.

Taylor tried to put that out of her mind and remember the lessons the toads had taught her about fighting and the importance of keeping her head clear.

"Die!" The armored cape snarled in his awful voice, swinging his arm in a powerful clothesline at the hero.

Taylor ducked under the fatal blow, the force of its passing caused her hood to fall off. She spun around to face Bushido, her hair flying freely through the air like a banner. She whipped yet another dagger towards the brute's face who blocked the small blade with his forearm. Taylor rushed the larger cape, using the time that Bushido had blinded himself blocking the knife to attack. She thrust her tanto at the ABB brute, using the momentum of her forward charge to stab her blade through the brute's thigh, easily parting his armor.

Bushido roared in pain and reflexively swung a meaty hand at the source of his suffering, clipping the toad summoner as she was withdrawing her knife sending her skidding across the ground.

"You fucking bitch," he snarled as he clutched his bleeding leg. "You're dead," he roared in his ruined voice as he stomped at the still downed cape.

A whistling sound was his only warning, ducking reflexively, Bushido barely managed to dodge the swipe of a gleaming silver halberd.

"You won't touch her," Armsmaster told the other cape evenly as he planted himself between the two capes. His blue tinker armor was mostly unmarred from his battle with Oni Lee aside from a few scuff marks and cosmetic scratches blemishing the paint job.

"Why am I always interrupted," Bushido barked out furiously in response, rushing down the tinker.

Armsmaster was methodical in his approach, every move he made was precise and economical, with no wasted motion. The seasoned hero ruthlessly took advantage of the superior reach afforded to him by his signature weapon. Using his halberd to deflect a crushing blow from his enraged opponent, he spun his polearm around and jabbed the butt of the weapon into Bushido's armored gut. The tinker-tech weapon let out a bark at the impact, punching out with a concussive blast that sent the brute stumbling backwards into a car.

With a growl, the ABB enforcer responded by ripping a door from the car he'd crashed into and sent it hurling at the hero. With a whirr, the blade of his halberd folded into itself as a barrel extended in its place, taking aim, he shot a powerful blast of kinetic energy at the car door, knocking it off course.

A bullet of wind smashing into the area between the two capes and saved Armsmaster from having to deal with Bushido taking advantage of his distraction. Tracing the wind attack's trajectory, he mentally noted that the previously downed toad was back on its feet and heading in his direction.

"You okay?"

No, not in his direction. Turning his head slightly to keep an eye on the ABB cape, he saw it was Jiraiya who had spoken.

"Yes," he answered shortly. "You should stay back," he warned.

"I'll be okay," she responded simply, adjusting her grip on a bloodied tanto.

Armsmaster frowned but let it go. This wasn't the time to argue. He took the time to get a bead on Hannah and saw his former Ward teammate near a mass of defeated thugs that appeared to be restrained by a foamy orange mass. Chemist's work most likely he decided and mentally made a note to try and talk to the tinker if the opportunity presented itself. At the press of a hidden button, the barrel retracted back into his staff and was replaced by another halberd blade.

"You okay sis?"

"I should be asking you that," Taylor responded. "You took your eye off the ball," she scolded, relieved that he seemed to be okay.

"It was a mistake," the toad grumbled with an embarrassed blush. "It won't happen again."

Further conversation was interrupted by another hurtled car door in their direction. Bushido didn't take well to being ignored. Scattering, the two heroes and ninja toad dodged the makeshift projectile.

Oni Lee decided to make a reappearance and engaged Gamakichi as Bushido hurtled towards the two heroes. Armsmaster moved to meet the charging brute, a grapple hook shooting out from his halberd in an attempt to entangle Bushido. In an impressive display of speed, Bushido reached down and grabbed the hook before it could hit him, tugging at it with all of his enhanced strength. Armsmaster must have predicted that Taylor thought appreciatively as she slipped behind the battling capes, because the grapple detached from the halberd before Bushido could actually pull the Protectorate hero towards him.

She analyzed the two battling capes, looking for an opportunity to help the tinker fighting Bushido. Armsmaster was clearly the superior combatant, but Bushido's strength and armor meant that the tinker always had to be careful. He had already gone through two blades on his halberd. Spotting her chance, she darted for the two combatants, doing her best to ignore the tightness in her chest from taking Bushido's hit earlier. Bushido must have seen something in Armsmaster's reaction to her sudden rush because he sent a blind swing to try and intercept her approach. Rolling underneath it aggravated her injured chest but was worth avoiding a hit from the brute. Coming out of the roll at the armored villain's legs, she stabbed her knife downward with finality, slamming the tanto through his foot and pinning him in place.

Bushido howled in pain at the new assault to his leg. Taylor bolted out of his reach before the villain could regain his faculties and make a grab for her. Armsmaster showed his experience in the merciless way he took advantage of the ABB cape's distraction. Stepping forward with a practiced lunge, his trademark halberd speared towards Bushido. At the prompt of some hidden mechanism, the blade of his signature weapon split in half to reveal a heavy-duty syringe which the veteran hero stabbed into Bushido's neck.

Bushido stumbled backward, ripping the knife in his foot free from the concrete and slapping at the injection point in surprised pain.

"What the fuck did you do to me?" He demanded, his voice slurring to near incomprehensibility towards the end of his question.

"Tranquilizer," Armsmaster obliged. "Designed specifically to work somebody with regeneration comparable to Lung's," he continued his breathing even despite the fighting. "Someone like you would have zero chance to resist it."

"Motherfuck –," the armored cape slurred before falling backward with a crash.

Taylor stared at the downed brute and then at Armsmaster. Deciding internally that it would be best to never be on the wrong side of the premier tinker in Brockton Bay, she awkwardly removed her blade from the unconscious cape's foot, internally wincing at the disgusting noise that action prompted. Looking for Kichi she found the toad alone, Oni Lee nowhere to be found.

Motioning toward her toad partner, Taylor left Armsmaster to finish subduing the brute and went to join up with Chemist. The tinker was standing near an impressive amount of thugs, all of whom were stuck within one of his mixtures, his eyes glued to the sky.

Curious, Taylor looked upwards and was surprised to find New Wave still battling with Purity. Despite herself, Taylor found herself impressed that the villain had lasted so long, though the Empire blaster's glow looked dimmer than when she'd first started fighting. Rune was doing her best to fend off New Wave's energy blasts to give the older Empire member room to breathe. Taylor's eyes widened when the increasingly desperate villain let loose with a brilliant blast of energy that easily broke through Laserdream's shield and clipped a dodging Glory Girl. The blast sent Glory Girl tumbling ungracefully out of the air. Shielder was on hand to catch his cousin before she crashed into the ground, but Purity's blast continued, carving a deep furrow into a nearby building causing a huge mass of metal and glass to go falling down to the street below.

Terrified screams jerked her attention back to the street and Taylor stared at a Korean woman and her young daughter that hadn't managed to escape the chaos. The pair were huddled in a paralyzed fear directly under the path of the falling debris. She sprinted towards them already knowing she was too far away to help but trying anyways.

"No!"

The mass of concrete, steel, and glass crashed onto them before she made it even half way, the woman crouched, huddling over her child in a vain effort to spare her child. A cloud of smoke rose from the site of impact and Taylor stared uncomprehending, unable to process what had just happened. Cursing herself for stopping, Taylor resumed running towards the site of impact, desperately hoping that the mother and child had somehow managed to survive. A figure in white who Taylor vaguely noted to be Glory Girl descended from the sky and joined her. Both heroes stopped and stared, unbelieving as the smoke and dust thinned enough for the two heroes to see what had happened.

Huge chunks of debris were floating above the mother and her daughter, protecting them from the fallen mass of the damaged building. Taylor stood stunned at the impossibility before her, searching for the cause of their rescue. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw the source of the people's rescue. Clad in a dark blue robe with a deep hood, Rune stood on a floating manhole cover, one arm extended toward the mother and child. Glory Girl wasted no time and increased her speed, flying over and grabbing the two from under the mass of debris. Once Glory Girl had the two free from danger, Rune lowered her arm and the debris crashed to the ground. Taylor stared after the young Empire cape who was probably around her own age as she floated away.

'Why had Rune saved them?' Taylor wondered. They weren't even white. Taylor wasn't sure why Rune had saved the mother and child, but she was grateful. She just wished that the world would get a little less complicated.

A field of blades erupted from the ground and interrupted any further consideration on Rune's behavior. Taylor gaped at the massive amounts of steel that had erupted out of nowhere. It wasn't just blades, she could see that now. It was beams, jagged spikes, and spears, and more, all growing from the ground, sprouting from cars and rising out of walls. Despite herself, Taylor's mouth went dry at the newly converted battlefield.

"I believe, that is just about enough of that," a smooth, cultured voice spoke, easily carrying over the suddenly still and silent battlefield despite the conversational tone.

Kaiser had arrived.

* * *

 **AN –** Quick update :). I'm spoiling you guys I know.

Okay, so I won't deny it. This chapter was all about punching things in the face. But, I felt like we were due for some good old fashioned violence yeah?

Skidmark had a brief badass moment before Oni ruined it. Taylor got to show off some sick moves and tag team with Kichi. Purity is scary as fuck and Rune saved some people. And then Armsmaster got to showcase his skills, and just why he's the leader of the Brockton Bay Protectorate. All in all, fun stuff.

Lemme know what you all thought.


	29. Escalation 4-9

Escalation 4.9

Kaiser strolled into the suddenly quiet battlefield, the sun gleamed off of his armor, and the pointed swords that formed the crown of blades at his head came to a wicked point. His arms were clasped behind his back, his head cocked at an arrogant tilt as he observed the battlefield. He was flanked by the twin capes Fenja and Menja, each already over double his height. Metal needles sprouted from the ground after each footstep creating an atmosphere of restrained power and violence.

Taylor wondered how long it had taken him to perfect that trick.

The Empire's leader came to a stop a distance away from the collection of capes. Apparently unfazed at being outnumbered, Kaiser spoke, "It seems we have an infestation in my territory," the Empire leader said aloud, voice deceptively relaxed as though talking about the weather, giving a disdainful look at the downed Bushido. "And a rather interesting assortment of heroes as well," he continued, his gaze panning the area, taking in the Protectorate capes and New Wave. Taylor stiffened despite herself when his stare focused on her for a long moment.

From the corner of her eyes, Taylor tracked Purity's glow as the blaster and Rune used Kaiser's arrival to extricate themselves from New Wave who had stopped attacking them and hover above their fellow Empire members. Feeling Gamakichi move towards her position did wonders to help calm her in the face of the leader of the biggest parahuman gang in the city.

In her relatively short career as a hero, Taylor had come across some of the most dangerous and powerful capes in the city. From Hookwolf to Bushido, to The Painted Lady. She didn't think that she despised any of them as much as she did Kaiser just then. And it wasn't because of the usual reasons. That he was the head of the largest gang in the city. That he was a racist or that he had Nazi sympathies. It was because, despite the fact that Kaiser was one of the worst criminals in the city, the head of a Neo-Nazi gang, and all of the other terrible things that were likely true about the man, despite all of that, Taylor couldn't help but be honestly impressed by the man.

It made her feel dirty.

He was confident and charismatic. With a voice that demanded attention and a figure that drew eyes toward him as if magnetized. Despite being outnumbered and possibly outgunned, and facing the prospect of fighting several powerful and experienced heroes, he was completely calm, with every cape in the area appearing to be waiting on his every word. Kaiser seemed comfortable under the undivided attention, thriving on it even in a way that Taylor knew she could never hope to emulate as he continued speaking.

"Armsmaster," Kaiser greeted grandly, his voice carrying easily through the street.

Armsmaster's face was carefully blank at being addressed by the villain but nonetheless responded to the call.

"What do you want Kaiser." The Protectorate tinker made no effort to hide his distaste at having to talk to the Nazi leader.

Kaiser continued, unruffled by the Protectorate leader's obvious dislike, "I will allow you and your fellows to leave my territory unmolested," he declared benevolently. "I find my attention otherwise occupied these days," he went on, gaze once again on the unconscious ABB brute.

"Not going to happen," the Protectorate leader growled flatly, following the Empire leaders line of sight, his hand tightening their grip on his halberd.

Kaiser let out a theatrical sigh as he continued walking through the battlefield. "Always so unreasonable," he complained. "Oh," he stopped, attention on the mass of Empire and ABB thugs stuck in Chemist's binding agent. "And what is this? Well, that just won't do," he said, looking curiously at the tied up gangsters.

"Kaiser," Armsmaster spoke, having had enough of catering to the Empire leader's theatrics, "don't move on –,"

"I have tried to be reasonable," the Empire leader interrupted the Protectorate tinker. Taylor tensed at the dangerous tone starting to emerge from the Empire leader's air of casual politeness, "I simply wanted to collect my erstwhile members and deal with the intruders," he continued, sounding very much put upon, as though Armsmaster was the one being unreasonable. He sighed with artificial regert, "It seems we will simply have to settle things the old fashioned way. Fenja, Menja," he spoke loudly, tone changing from conversational nonchalance to something far more ruthless, "remove the intru –gurk!"

The sound of gunfire rang out as bullets pinged off Kaiser's armor, causing the Empire leader to stumble backward, coughing harshly at the impact. One of the twins, Taylor didn't know which, swiftly interposed herself between the barrage of bullets and Kaiser, already growing as she did so. The other twin brandished her spear with an enraged shout and charged toward the collection of heroes, her already formidable height increasing with each step.

Still coughing from Miss Militia's surprise attack, fighting to regain his breath, Kaiser raised his arm and clenched his hand into a fist, sharp blades erupted from the ground, slicing through the Chemist's binding mixture and cutting free his Empire members. Such was the Empire leader's control of his ability that he was able to free his minions whilst leaving the ABB thugs trapped.

"Dammit, she's only using rubber bullets, that won't hold him for long!" Chemist shouted to be heard as he turned and ran to the side, clutching desperately at a new chem-ball.

As his non-powered minions scrambled to get back to their feet, Kaiser managed to regain his composure and turned toward the Protectorate heroes, he made a violent gesture, sending gleaming metal bludgeons erupting from the street and nearby cars.

Taylor didn't get to see what happened to them as she was trying to dodge her own wave of metal weaponry coming from the ground beneath her feet. Kichi grabbed her and leaped out of the way just as spears erupted from where they were standing. The toad spat out a bullet of water in protest at the Empire leader only for it to impact uselessly on the sword wielding twin's shield. A wall of interlocking blades grew from the ground to take over the defense and free the giant to guard him from other attacks. As she and Kichi flew through the air, she saw New Wave resuming their battle with Rune and Purity in the air. Glory Girl was flying recklessly towards Purity, relying on her invulnerability and desperately trying to stop the Empire blaster from letting loose more of her dangerous energy blasts.

Kichi came back down to the ground near Chemist's position. Taylor found to her relief that Kaiser was too busy trying to deal with Miss Militia to continue harassing them. An explosion rocked the street, whirling to find its source she saw the spear wielding twin, now at least 20 feet in height stumble backward into a building from an explosion courtesy of Oni Lee. Taylor frowned worriedly. If they continued to go at each other like that there would be incredible amounts of damage to the surrounding area.

"What do we do?" Chemist asked worriedly, eyes darting frantically over the battlefield. He had to shout to be heard over the fighting.

"Call for help," she responded grimly.

Flicking through hand signs with great speed, she slammed her hand into the ground and summoned some help. The signature smoke that came with a summon disappeared to reveal Gamatatsu and Gama.

"I need you guy's to go help deal with Fenja and Menja," she ordered quickly. At slightly over 15 feet in height, Gama wasn't quite as large as what the twins were currently at, but she had faith that the armored toad would be able to match their strength. "Kichi grab your brother and go!" She ordered preemptively when the yellow toad stopped and made to open his mouth and demand snacks.

"You can get your candy later," the older brother scolded as he hauled the yellow toad along with him. "We got fighting to do first."

Gamatatsu sent her a devastating pout but nonetheless followed his brother into battle.

"Hey!" Kichi shouted with an eager grin, sending a powerful blast of wind at the Valkyrie wielding a sword and shield, forcing the brute to defend herself and successfully taking her attention away from Armsmaster. "Hitler's wet dream, let's see if you got what it takes to last longer than five minutes."

Taylor groaned internally, suddenly wishing that she'd never explained to the toad what a Nazi was. Still, it was good to see the toad joking in fights again, he'd been unusually serious since his even battle with The Painted Lady.

"Now what do we do?" Chemist's voice got her attention.

Tearing her eyes from her toads and back to Chemist, she cast her eyes over the battlefield, looking for somewhere to contribute.

"Over there," she pointed to a medium sized group of newly freed Empire thugs, who seemed to be looking for a chance to help their leader, standing just at the edge of the fighting.

"Them again," Chemist complained. "I just finished beating them."

"We can't let them interfere in the fights while the heroes are occupied" she responded, drawing her taser from within her battle jacket, holding it loosely at the ready. She counted nine empire gangsters. A few of them were armed with guns too. She thought about another summon but refrained for the moment, she could already feel the strain from all of the summoning she'd done today. Gama and the two brothers alone were amongst the more exhausting of her toads to call forth.

"Kaiser better not free them this time," the chemical tinker responded irritably.

"I'll be sure to let him know how you feel," she responded sarcastically, already heading toward the Empire thugs.

"Wait up for a second," the chemical tinker said, reaching into the lab coat that Parian had designed for him.

"We don't have time," Taylor began, turning around in frustration only to stall at what Chemist was holding in his hand.

An oversized, almost toy-like, handgun was clenched in one hand. It was a slightly chunky silver pistol with an overly long barrel that had an unusually large opening, much too big for any conventional bullet. The silver of the gun was interspersed clumsy welding marks. Despite that it was obviously tinker-tech, even Taylor could tell it was crude in construction. Panels of the gun were painted with electric blue paint in the same shade as his goggles doing a passable job at hiding some marks of its novice make.

"What the heck is that?" Taylor asked in alarm.

Chemist produced an orange chem-ball using his backpack from the palm of his gauntlet as he responded to the question, "I was thinking of ways to deliver my chem-balls outside of throwing them" the tinker spoke, sounding a little distracted, "I'm not that strong," he continued, "and relying on my throwing ability probably isn't always gonna be smart in the long run," he added self-deprecatingly. "So I designed this."

With a clunky pop at the press of a button where the safety of a normal gun would reside, the back half of the barrel slid backward to reveal a circular opening. Placing the orange chem-ball into the opening and pushing the back half of the barrel closed manually to reseal the gun he continued, "it's not very impressive looking, as you can see. It has more in common with an airsoft gun than an actual handgun. That's actually where the bulk of the parts come from. As far as mechanics go? It's not all that advanced. Not really my specialty," he continued, taking aim at the group of thugs who were starting to edge towards the main fight, guns aimed at Miss Militia who was busy dealing with Kaiser.

Chemist squeezed the trigger, shooting his mixture at the group of thugs with impressive velocity, orange chem-ball landing in the middle of the Empire thugs, "But it doesn't need to be advanced," he finished, satisfied when the thugs were surrounded by an orange fog courtesy of his chemical. "It uses compressed air to launch my chem-balls," he continued, relishing at the chance to talk about his work. "I call it a caster gun. Far better than throwing don't you think?" He asked the toad summoner, looking at his newly named caster gun with a pleased grin.

"Thats your rust mixture that I used on Bushido," Taylor spoke her thoughts aloud in realization as the Empire gangster's guns and a nearby car started oxidizing at impressive speeds, leaving the coughing skinheads holding useless hunks of metal that would never shoot a bullet again.

"I tweaked it a bit," he boasted, "now it doesn't need to interact with water to activate the effect."

The Empire thugs managed to get over their confusion and started running at the two capes, incensed at the loss of their guns.

"How much more of that do you have?" She asked, tensing in readiness as she eyed the approaching thugs.

Chemist raised the armored glove with the screen embedded into it and frowned, "Not much more," he admitted, lowering his arm and carefully reloading his caster with a green ball. "This stuff has some pretty expensive components. Even with the money you lent me from that ABB stash you told me about, there's still a lot of trial and error involved. The stuff I use in my backpack has already been tested, I waste a lot when I design something new. Being a tinker isn't cheap," he admitted annoyed, "and I can't afford most of the raw chemicals that I want."

He took another shot, tripping up some of the Empire members in a green sticky ooze that erupted from the point of impact.

"Alright, new plan," Taylor spoke quickly, determinedly not looking at the sound of a mighty crash coming from the direction her toads were battling the giant twins. "Go help Militia and Armsmaster against Kaiser."

"What about you," Chemist protested immediately.

"I'll be fine," she said shortly, "your rusting agent will be of more use there," she continued, moving to meet the Empire thugs. "Go!" She barked at the tinker when he paused, unsure.

After that, her focus narrowed and she couldn't spare her ally any more attention. The tinker had caught about half of the thugs with his attack, leaving five skinheads leftover for her. It was her lucky day.

Thankfully, the Nazi gangsters seemed content to live up to the stereotype of being dumb goons. Two of the skinheads had pulled ahead of their fellow members, seeing easy prey in the teenage girl facing them down.

Taylor met their charge in an effort to take them down quickly. Three on one sounded infinitely better than five on one. The overly eager Empire members rushed recklessly towards her, each wielding a baseball bat. Thinking quickly, Taylor unhooked her sheathed blade from the small of her back and used the sheath to deflect the skinhead's wild swing. Taking advantage of his overreach, she stomped a kick onto his instep, damaging the fragile bones in the foot, she then stabbed at the distracted thug with her taser, sending the gangster collapsing to the ground in pain and out of the fight.

The second gangster reached her by then and Taylor had to step backward to avoid a whistling baseball bat that passed inches from her face. The tattooed thug followed up with a harsh two-handed swing, forcing her to drop her taser and reinforce her grip on her sheathed tanto with her second hand.

Struggling against the physically larger gangster, Taylor stepped back before she could be overpowered causing the thug to stumble at the sudden loss of resistance, interfering with a third Empire member who had been about to join the fight. Before the bat-wielding skinhead could adjust to the sudden imbalance, Taylor ended the fight with authority, lashing out with a two-handed swing of her sheathed blade at the man's chest, his collarbone broke with a sickening crack and he collapsed to the ground in agony.

Taylor breathed deeply, buzzing from the adrenaline as she faced the remaining three Empire goons. They approached far more cautiously after her fast and brutal takedown of their two fellow Empire members. They began to spread out, taking advantage of their numbers to come at the hero from all sides.

Taylor grimaced at finally being confronted by thugs with brains as she tried to decide what to do. She eyed the Empire members warily as one of the thugs pulled out a switchblade he'd managed to keep safe from Chemist's rusting agent, a knife sprouting from the handle at the press of a button.

Deciding that she had no choice but to take the initiative, Taylor launched herself into a sudden lunge at the most isolated gang member. Jumping up onto the hood of a nearby car and kicking off, she hit the unprepared thug with a flying knee sending both of them tumbling to the ground. Springing back up to her feet, she turned to meet the oncoming gang members.

She was just in time to catch a tattooed fist to the side of her face from the unarmed thug. She staggered backward from the force of the blow, eyes watering in pain at the way the punch had caused to her to inadvertently bite her tongue, breaking the skin. Taylor launched a kick to get the thug away from her. Heat was radiating from her eye in what was sure to be an impressive bruise.

She wasn't given time to dwell on her pain as the other Empire member moved into to attack. The toad summoner dodged a hasty swipe from a switchblade, the skinhead's knife parting the first layer of her jacket but skittering off the armored panels sewn into the coat. Taylor dodged a second stab from the man, grabbing his wrist as the blade passed her face and launching her elbow at his face, breaking his nose with a satisfying crack. The thug dropped the knife and staggered backwards clutching at his bleeding nose.

A massive explosion of wind-powered water interrupted their fight. The shockwave from the intense blast knocking all three of them to the ground. Taylor lay on the ground stunned. She moaned as she struggled back up to her feet, not appreciating being so close to an explosion for the second time in one day. She spat out a mouthful of blood from accidentally biting her own tongue, grimacing in disgust at the act. She turned toward her toads, recognizing the signs of Kichi and Tatsu's Toad Gun collaboration attack from the ABB warehouse.

To her relief, her toads seemed to be fine. There was a worrying crack in Gama's armor that must have come from one of the twins. She couldn't imagine that anyone else aside from Purity could do significant damage to his sturdy armor. Kichi and his brother looked to be okay as well, if visibly tired from their collaboration technique. The pair's superior mobility having likely served them well against the giant twins.

Their attack seemed to have been worth the effort. The massive shield was shattered and the sword-wielding Empire cape was clutching at a badly broken arm, her enormous face white with pain.

A brilliant glow of energy from a powerful blast in the sky above distracted her. A horrified shout snatched her attention, causing her to whip her head skyward. Taylor's stared in horror as Lady Photon and Laserdream plummeted to the ground like stones. Glory Girl and Shielder were racing after the pair in pursuit, trying to catch them but unable to reach.

They wouldn't make it in time Taylor realized.

"Grab them!"

Gama responded at once. Leaping into the air and lashing out with his tongue, the huge armored toad caught Lady Photon while Gamatatsu managed to secure Laserdream. Gamakichi covered his fellow toads, shooting out a spray of high-pressure water bullets into the air causing Purity to sharply change course, abandoning her attack to veer off and head to the giant twin who'd been battered by her toads.

"Menja!"

The ugly shout pierced the battlefield. Kaiser's voice had a ragged edge to it. A mix of rage and pure frustration enveloped his words. The spear wielding giant who'd been keeping Miss Militia at bay and dealing with surprise attacks from Oni Lee turned toward her leader at his call. Taylor mimicked the Empire cape, tracking her gaze toward Kaiser.

Taylor stared, unsure if she was staring at the same man who had casually entered the battlefield as though he owned everything he saw. Kaiser's air of casual arrogance had disappeared, the illusion of assured victory had cracked, revealing a sheer unadulterated fury that was an almost frightening difference from the composed and charismatic cape that had entered the battlefield earlier.

Chemist's ranged assistance seemed to have turned the tide in Kaiser's battle with the two present Protectorate capes. The Empire's leader was surrounded by a field of rust and metal. Even some of his own armor was not unaffected. Taylor watched on in surprise as the rusted parts of Kaiser's armor fell away to be replaced by newly grown blades.

His power was used to create his armor?

The brief window during which Kaiser was repairing his armor let her see a weeping, bloody wound on his shoulder.

"We're leaving!"

She stared disbelieving as Kaiser simply turned and walked away. He wasn't even running she thought to herself, stunned.

Armsmaster must have shared her opinion because he sprinted after the villain, not content to let the Nazi leader simply leave.

A crack of thunder echoed outwards and knocked the approaching tinker backwards before he could cover even half the distance. Taylor flinched and dove behind a car, recognizing the sound of a gunshot. Menja used the surprise attack to her advantage, supporting her injured sister and running after their leader. The twin brutes were gradually shrinking as they retreated.

Another crack as a bullet broke the sound barrier echoed across the street, the gunshot forcing Miss Militia to abort her attempt to check on Armsmaster and duck for cover. She was relieved to see her toads had understood the danger the unknown gunmen represented and had removed the injured New Wave members from danger. A brilliant blue force field courtesy of Shielder protected them as they huddled behind a truck. Gama's hulking form was sticking out from behind the truck conspicuously from within the shimmering force field. She felt a wave of gratitude toward Shielder for guarding the armored toad who was far too large for the makeshift cover that the others used. Taylor forced down her worry when she couldn't get a bead on where Chemist was when another gunshot forced her to duck back down.

Taylor glared at the retreating Empire capes uselessly, forced to watch and do nothing as they retreated. As though sensing her thoughts, Kaiser stopped, turning back, he made a sharp gesture. Out of nowhere, Oni Lee appeared at the unconscious Bushido's side, clutching at an exotic looking grenade in his hand as Kaiser finished his gesture. Oni Lee spiked the grenade at the ground moments before blades erupted from the street, stabbing into the two ABB capes, turning them into pincushions. Time stood still for a long moment before a sharp crack marked both of the Asian capes and several feet of road around them crumbling to ash.

Kaiser snarled at their escape and spun around. A nondescript SUV pulled around the corner as he got to the end of the street, and just like that, the Empire capes were gone and the battle was over.

She counted out 30 seconds before cautiously abandoning her cover. The adrenaline began to fade now that the fighting was over. The sudden loss of it meant that Taylor could suddenly feel every ache and pain that she'd collected during the battle. Her head ached something fierce. Gently probing the side of her face and the area around her eye, Taylor could feel the swelling bruise that had blossomed from the blow that she'd taken from the Empire thug. The area had swelled as well and she imagined it didn't look very good. Far more pressing than a potential black eye, though, was the ache she felt throughout her entire body that she associated from Bakuda's bomb courtesy of Oni Lee.

As Taylor began walking over to where she'd last seen Chemist she shook her head in an attempt to clear it. The toad summoner stopped, immediately regretting the action, biting her lip to stifle a moan of pain. Her head was pounding with a migraine. She couldn't tell if it was from the explosion or the multiple high level summons that she'd done today, or some combination thereof. Once her blurring vision cleared, she continued moving to where she could now see her tinker ally.

She was relieved to see that Chemist was looking fine, probably wisely deciding to stay at a range to support the veteran heroes and out of danger. A sigh rattled her exhausted body. Using as much of whatever energy powered her summons as she did took a lot out of her. It was an exhaustion that wasn't entirely physical. Weighing down on her.

Taylor waved limply at her teammate. Taking a deep breath, she did her best to push aside her exhaustion and concentrate on more immediate matters.

"You okay?" The scientist themed cape asked her, worriedly eyeing the conspicuous bruise on her eye and the rip in her jacket on her side from the near miss with the knife.

"Nothing serious," she assured him. "How's Armsmaster?" She asked suddenly, worried and feeling foolish for not having thought about it earlier.

"See for yourself," Chemist replied, gesturing to the side.

Taylor was relieved to see the premier tinker in Brockton Bay back on his feet. There was a large dent in the chest of his advanced armor, but was otherwise whole. She was glad to see that the armor had maintained its integrity in the face of the surprise attack.

"We should probably go see if they need us for anything," she said, gesturing for Chemist to follow as she moved to join up with the Protectorate capes.

Up close she could see that the two veteran heroes definitely hadn't escaped the battle unscathed. Armsmaster's armor had done its job for the most part. There were some dents aside from the one caused by the gunshot that couldn't have felt good, but thankfully nothing seemed to have penetrated.

Miss Militia, on the other hand, wasn't so well protected, and the gun-toting heroine suffered for it. The patriotic-themed cape was listening to Armsmaster talk as she bound a large cut on her thigh. The dusky skinned hero sported similar, already bandaged wounds on her bicep as well, from where she'd been caught by Kaiser. Hearing their approach, the older capes broke off from their conversation to greet the younger heroes.

"Jiraiya," Miss Militia greeted with a smile despite the situation, it dimmed slightly with worry when she noticed the bruise on the upper side of the toad summoner's face and the careful way that she moved, "I'm glad to see you're mostly alright. Any serious injuries?" She asked with an honest concern that made Taylor feel a little warm despite herself.

"No," Taylor denied, "it looks worse than it is."

"Your jacket is well armored," the Protectorate tinker observed, eyeing the conspicuous tear in her battle coat.

Taylor blinked at the non-sequitur from Armsmaster but nodded in confirmation.

"Wise," Armsmaster praised.

"The Protectorate doesn't generally condone working with villains outside of extreme situations like an Endbringer attack," he continued more seriously, and Taylor felt a sinking in her stomach at the veteran hero's distaste as he referenced the Merchants. "But I understand the severity of this gang war and what it means for this city, and I can appreciate when necessity triumphs over comfort."

Taylor nodded, relieved that Armsmaster didn't seem to hold her being a part of the alliance against her. Taylor had no interest in being a Ward. And had her own reasons for being dissatisfied with the heroes' progress in Brockton. However, that didn't mean that she didn't respect what they stood for, or that she didn't respect the Protectorate capes and Wards that she'd met during her cape career.

"Do you know who was shooting at the end?" Taylor asked, changing the subject.

A severe frown appeared on the visible lower half of Armsmaster's face at the question, "Victor most likely. He has a tendency to attack from the shadows. Using him to cover a retreat would not be out of character for Kaiser."

"Fortunately, they no longer have access to Othala," Miss Militia chimed in with grim satisfaction, "Kaiser will be feeling that wound for a while."

A brief smirk crossed Armsmaster's face at that. "Since we are on the subject," he spoke, turning his attention to the suddenly stiff-backed tinker at her side, "Chemist, you were a great help in dealing with Kaiser." At some hidden prompt from Armsmaster, a business card dispensed from a slot in his wrist and he presented it to the chemical tinker, "I would like to speak with you if you ever have the time and compare ideas," he told the stunned tinker. "It is rare that a tinker specializes in non-mechanical branches of technology," Armsmaster continued, "I am sure that a collaboration would be beneficial."

Greg nodded dumbly at the veteran tinker, holding onto the card in a white-knuckled grip as though he'd never let it go again.

Taylor was interrupted in her amusement at Greg's expense by a sudden and confusing feeling of wonder followed by an impact from behind that stole her breath away. Taylor futilely struggled as arms squeezed around her torso, lifting her body into the air. A voice filled her ears, words that Taylor couldn't understand, lost in the haze of intense panic at the sudden assault on her person.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The fervent sounds of gratitude eventually processed for Taylor, allowing the panicked girl to calm herself and think clearly.

"Put me down please," she wheezed through the powerful grip that she now recognized as a hug.

"Oh! Sorry!"

Taylor took a deep breath as she was set back down onto the ground, trying to get air back into her body. Turning around she nodded, smiling a weak hello to the person floating before her.

"Glory Girl," she greeted in a poor facsimile of nonchalance.

The New Wave cape grinned sheepishly in return. Taylor felt a surge of jealousy as she took in the other cape. Glory Girl shared many features with her mother Brandish. Full blonde hair and bright blue eyes, she was an incredibly beautiful girl. Unlike her mother, though, Glory Girl had an openness and expressiveness about her that only served to accentuate her natural beauty.

"What's up?" Taylor said lamely, doing her best to stave off her brief surge of jealousy.

"Thank you," Glory Girl said again, "for saving my family."

"It was nothing," she deflected uneasily.

"It wasn't," Glory Girl refuted firmly, hands placed firmly on her hips as she floated in front of her. "It was everything. And I'll remember it. So again, thank you."

Taylor stared at the other girl before finally nodding in reply, unsure of what to say. She felt embarrassed and awkward with the praise and honest gratitude. Unsure of how to really process that somebody like Glory Girl could feel that way towards someone like her. It was uncomfortable but also nice.

"Are you okay?" Glory Girl asked suddenly, frowning worriedly at the bruise on the toad summoner's face and the battered state of her costume.

"I'll be oka –,"

"Come on," Victoria interrupted with a distressed frown. She reached out and gathered the taller girl in her arms, her strength making the action easy. She flew off with her captive, leaving Chemist and the Protectorate capes behind.

"My sister is checking over Laserdream and Lady Photon right now," the blonde hero explained to her stunned prisoner. "She'll probably check over everyone else later, but, we can sneak you in first," she finished with a wink and conspiratorial grin to the hero in her grip.

Taylor wasn't given time to protest before she suddenly found herself deposited back onto the ground. The world swayed as she fought to reassert a sense of equilibrium.

"Hey Ames, someone could use your help over here!"

The world came back into focus just as a smallish girl in a white robe with familiar curly brown hair walked up to the pair, eyeing the red-coated summoner curiously.

"Victoria, aura," she greeted, eyes lighting up in recognition, "and what have we told you about asking before flying with people?" she chastised half-heartedly, waving a greeting to the red-coated hero in her sister's arms. "Nice to meet you again Jiraiya," she added with a small smile.

"Sorry," the blonde responded embarrassed," and suddenly the confusing buzz of awe faded from Taylor's awareness. "She could use your magic hands though," Glory Girl insisted, somehow managing to shuffle awkwardly while floating a few inches off the ground. Taylor wondered if Glory Girl spent more time in the air than on the ground, resisting the urge to sigh in relief as the world came back into focus.

Looking a bit more serious at her sister's claim, Panacea gave the toad summoner a second, more careful examination.

Stepping towards the taller girl, she reached outward before hesitating, "Do I have your permission to heal you?" she asked.

"Yes."

"I don't have to smile first?" Panacea teased lightly.

"Ahh, only if you want to," Taylor mumbled with a blush as she recalled their first meeting. She stalwartly ignored the curiously interested expression on Glory Girl's face at the exchange.

Panacea smirked at the toad summoner, reaching out and touching the side of her face, ignoring the taller girl's reflexive flinch, near her blossoming black eye. Panacea's amused smirk devolved into a worried frown as she processed what she was getting from the other girls body.

"You have contusions all over your body of varying degrees of severity in addition to the one on your face, inner ear damage, damage to internal organs, high levels of exhaustion and mental fatigue," the healer mumbled to herself absentmindedly. Her eyes snapped to the other cape, "What happened to you?" she demanded, her voice warring between angry, worried, and aghast.

"Fought some guys," she tried half-heartedly before relenting under Panacea's expectant gaze. "I kind of exploded," Taylor said unsurely, "twice," she mumbled reluctantly under the appalled stare from the healer.

Relief rolled through her entire body, suffusing through her entire being. The swelling in her eye went down, the broken blood vessels mending causing the darkness of her bruise to return to her normal skin tone. Her headache partially eased with the pain, and every ache and bump that she'd acquired during the fighting melted away to cool relief and exhaustion. Taylor took a deep breath and released it into a drawn out sigh, relishing in the lack of pain.

"Be careful next time! You're a master cape," the healer informed her, incredulous, "you should have your toads to protect you, not whatever led to this," she said, gesturing expansively at the toad summoner's battered costume. "This is the second time I've seen you with serious injuries. I won't always be around to heal you," the robed healer said a little worried.

Taylor blinked dumbly at the vehement demand from the shorter girl before her. She looked down to meet the concerned healer's gaze and nodded, feeling a little guilty to have caused her to worry.

"I'll do my best," she told her honestly, unwilling to lie to the other cape. It wasn't like Taylor planned to get hurt, she just did what she had to do.

A snicker interrupted their conversation and Panacea drew her hand away from the newly healed girl's face with an embarrassed flush.

"Don't worry about her," Victoria said, still snickering, ignoring the indignant glare from her sister, "I'm invincible, and even I still get lectures like that."

"That is because you have a tendency towards recklessness, my dear," a mature voice spoke from behind them.

"That's an exaggeration, character assassination even Aunt Sarah," Glory Girl protested with a pout.

"I'm sure," Lady Photon agreed tolerantly as she and her children joined them.

Taylor nodded, smiling a little in greeting when her toads followed behind her. Taylor noted with a frown that New Wave heroes formerly white outfit was heavily damaged from her battle with Purity. Thankfully, despite the damage, the older woman had no visible injuries. Panacea's work Taylor assumed.

"Thanks for the save," Laserdream greeted with a wave and a smile.

"Agreed," Shielder said more seriously from his position, nearly glued to his sister's side. He offered a thankful nod to the summoner before shooting another look at his sister as though he were afraid she'd disappear. Laserdream for her part looked annoyed but tolerant of his behavior.

"Indeed," Lady Photon agreed. "I cannot thank you enough for saving my daughter and myself. I don't know what I would do without her. If you ever need anything, you need only ask."

Taylor stood stiffly under the combined attention of the present New Wave members, mouth dry and unable to think of anything to say. She offered a jerky nod in acknowledgment. Her toads thankfully decided that it was time to announce their presence and alleviate some of the attention being heaped onto their self-conscious summoner.

"Don't forget about us," Gamakichi complained as he and his brother hopped over to their summoner. "My little bro and Gama snatched you two outta the sky after all."

"Of course," Lady Photon replied to the orange toad's visible satisfaction, "we are in your debt."

Taylor admired the older woman's composure in dealing with giant talking toads. It wasn't a transition that most people could make so easily.

A mournful croak signified Gama's contribution to the conversation. Taylor frowned at the largest present toad who was staring gloomily at the large crack in his signature red armor.

"I'm sure that it can be fixed," she consoled the massive toad, as she tossed a bag of candy that she kept on hand to the impatiently waiting Gamatatsu.

"You can understand him?" Glory Girl asked, fascinated, as she flew up to get a closer look at the 15-foot tall toad who returned her curious stare.

"Yeah," Taylor answered with a shrug, ignoring the looks of impressed disgust that Shielder and Laserdream were sending Gamatatsu as the yellow toad devoured his snack, "more or less."

It had been odd at first, being able to feel what her toads felt, and translate their croaks and gestures into something mostly understandable, but by now she'd more or less taken the ability for granted. It was almost hard to imagine a time without the rambunctious Toad family in her life.

"Powers get really strange sometimes," Shielder observed with a whistle, eyeing Gamatatsu a little warily as the yellow toad stared mournfully at his already empty bag of candy before ducking under a slap from his sister for possibly offending the toad summoning hero.

"Looks like the PRT is here," Panacea observed, interrupting their interaction.

"So it seems," Lady Photon agreed with her niece. "We better go make our statement. Jiraiya, it was good to see you again," she said with a nod as the New Wave members made their way to Armsmaster.

"You too," she added belatedly, returning a cheerful and shy wave from Glory Girl and Panacea respectively with one of her own.

"Man," Gamakichi spoke up once the toads were alone with their summoner, "we really fucked this place up huh?" He asked, sounding a little impressed.

Taylor stared at the whole of the Downtown area turned battlefield for the first time since the fight had ended, finally able to fully appreciate how much damage had been done to the area.

A great furrow was carved into an office building across the street from one of Purity's blasts. It was intimidating to realize that from the reports of her power level, the Empire blaster had been holding back. She fully deserved the title of most powerful blaster in the city. If she had wanted to, Purity could have done far worse.

Another building was heavily damaged as well, likely from the toad's battle with the Valkyrie twins and Oni Lee's bombs. Rubble and debris littered the formerly pristine streets of the Downtown business sector. A large section of road where Bushido had lain was simply gone, a pit of ash where there was once cement. Parked cars and trucks were heavily damaged and EMTs and PRT officers now roamed the area looking for the injured.

An entire team of the EMTs were dedicated to looking over the group that Skidmark had demolished. Taylor could see Panacea lending her magic touch to Miss Militia while Lady Photon talked with Armsmaster.

A sick feeling curdled in her stomach as she saw a pair of EMTs zip up an ABB gang member into a body bag. She couldn't make him out clearly from the distance, but she thought she recognized the deceased thug as the man that had the misfortune to find himself within Mush's reach. It was the first time that she'd been confronted by a dead body while out as a cape and she wasn't sure how to feel. She didn't regret trying to stop the gangs, and if she was honest with herself, she would have still intervened. But, as she stared solemnly at the body bag, she was starting to realize that there was a cost to be paid for ridding the gangs from her city.

A reprimanding croak from Gama caught Gamakichi's attention. Confused, he met the older toad's reprimanding look, following the larger toad's gaze to his silent summoner. Guiltily, he noticed that now might not have been the time for jokes.

"Hey, sis. You doin okay over there?"

"Yeah," she said distractedly. "I'm alright," tearing her gaze away from the body to her battle partner. "Just thinking. What did we really accomplish?"

"What do you mean?"

"We sent them running," Taylor said. "We held them back and stopped them from doing whatever it was they were gathering for, but, we didn't actually accomplish anything real. Bushido got away, again. And Kaiser just strolled out of here like it was nothing," she said, running her hand through her hair in frustration. Taylor took a breath and continued, "All we managed to do was capture a few low-level thugs," she gestured with her arm to encompass the ruined street in front of them. "That wasn't worth all of this."

"So what are you saying?" Gamakichi asked, his earlier joking tone devolving into something far more serious. His fellow toads listened to what their summoner had to say intently. Even Gamatatsu had momentarily abandoned his customary synonym.

"I'm saying that we need to do more," she responded passionately. "We have to strike and make it count. Actually hurt them instead of just fending them off."

"I'm assuming you have a plan?" The orange toad inquired of his summoner.

"It depends," she answered slowly. "Tomorrow I'm going to give Tattletale a call and see what she's found out. Maybe then we can do something that matters."

"Sounds like fun," Gamakichi responded with a vicious, anticipatory grin. "Count me in."

* * *

 **AN** \- Whelp, this chapter was pretty fun to write and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Some of the things about this chapter, not really all of them since I'm sick of writing but -

Kaiser. He was surprisingly interesting to write. I tried to show off his intelligence. He's usually shown as pretty calculating in everything he does, this is especially shown through the lens of Purity and his interactions/manipulations towards her.

It sorta collapsed a bit in this story once things didn't turn out how he wanted them too, but even when on the back foot he managed to have a clean escape plan in place. Hopefully I managed to strike a balance with him. It's hard… you know, because he's a Nazi and fuck him. But he's also smart, competent, and dangerous.

Greg/Chemist cemented himself as the long range support. Shades of Gene Starwind with his caster gun (even if it's kinda shitty right now) as a way to use his chem-balls long range. We also learned of a few limitations, the struggle to make new chems, money/time, etc…

Don't worry too much about him being OP. Whenever he's shown with Taylor it's always emphasized how much more capable she is than him physically. This is on purpose and he tends to keep at a distance for a reason. A lot of his future innovations will be more supplementary in nature as well. Trying stuff that's not necessarily directly for combat. The Armsmaster invitation is pretty interesting for him too potentially, gives him something to do on his own for once in the story that's not directly connected to Taylor. Understandable that he's mostly been focused on her though, given his trigger/backstory.

And some fun New Wave interaction that sorta snuck up on me out of nowhere. Wasn't planned at all, sorta happened organically and I'm pretty happy with it. I was pretty careful to make Glory Girl normal/nice to Taylor. She just saved her family members and she's a fellow hero, so she has no reason to be a jerk to her. The opposite really.

It's sorta seen through my portrayal of Greg, Kaiser, Panacea and Glory Girl, but I've been trying to be really careful about treating all of the characters fairly. At least, I hope it's seen.

I've seen in a few stories here and there that all those characters can end up sorta 1 dimensional, more tropes than characters at times. Kaiser's a Nazi, Greg's scum of the earth, Panacea's needs all the hugs, and GG is an idiot who can't control her own strength with impulse control problems.

There are reasons for these portrayals of course, but, I'm trying to make them react and act in ways that make sense for them in their perspective and not let myself fall into that trap. Hopefully it's working out alright.

And finally, the next chapter should wrap up this arc. That's the plan anyway. Should be really awesome if I can pull it off right. Here's hoping anyways.

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Lemme know what you all thought.

Peace :)


	30. Escalation 4-10

Escalation 4.10

"Something eating at you bug?"

Taylor jolted out of her daze at the sound of her father's voice. She'd been zoning out all day, so she didn't blame her dad for worrying.

"I'm okay," she reassured her father in an effort to alleviate the concerned frown he was directing her way. "Just have a lot on my mind," she said honestly, shooting another look at the clock. She would be able to contact Tattletale soon and hopefully get some good news.

Her smile turned a little more genuine as she thought about her dad. Ever since their movie night, their relationship had changed slightly. He was more attentive to her now. And he was making more of an effort to be involved in her life. It didn't really make hiding her cape life any easier, but, she couldn't bring herself to mind the inconvenience over much. The trade was more than worth it.

Another glance at the clock told her that it was time to go. Tattletale had given her certain times of day that she could be reliably contacted without having to worry about being caught by Coil or his underlings. Thankfully, with Coil busy managing the alliance, the blonde villain turned double agent had been able to capitalize on the distraction and had more free time than usual.

"I'm going to head out. I might stay over at Sabah's house if the movie runs too late."

"Taylor," Danny called, stopping his daughter as she was about to leave the house.

"Yeah, dad?"

"You know you can trust me with anything, right Taylor?"

Taylor started at the unusually serious tone in her dad's voice. His look was almost expectant as he stared at his daughter.

"I know that it's been hard since your mother passed. And I know that I haven't made things any easier with how I handled it," her dad continued. "But I am here. And I will always love you. No matter what."

Taylor swallowed wetly at the unexpectedly heavy words from her dad. She moved back into the room and engulfed her surprised father into a hug.

"I know that dad," she said, standing straight once again as her father adjusted his glasses from the surprise contact. "I'm okay though, promise," she assured with a smile.

He gave her a long, penetrating look before nodding and giving his daughter a smile, "Of course you are," he agreed, "you're your mother's daughter, you can handle anything. Have fun bug."

Taylor nodded in thanks and headed out, a weighted feeling in her stomach. The irony of her pulling away from her father as he was reaching out to her was not lost on her. After this situation with the ABB and the Empire was settled, she resolved to do better. She couldn't just be a good hero, she had to be a good daughter too. After all, what was the point of trying to make the city a better place if she couldn't even make one of the people she was doing it for happy.

Taylor sighed heavily as she stood outside her house, closing her eyes and doing her best to ignore the heavy feelings from her conversation with her father. Shaking her head to try and dislodge her worried thoughts, she adjusted the backpack holding her battle-scarred costume and set off. Withdrawing her phone from her pocket, she sent out quick texts to Sabah and Greg to meet her at the apartment complex above their base before sending out a call to Tattletale.

"Hey, doing okay after the big fight?" Tattletale's voice greeted her after a few rings. A faint worry laced her words.

"You know I am," she answered, already used to the other girl knowing far more than she should after only a short time interacting with Lisa.

"Contrary to what I would generally like others to believe, I don't actually know everything," Lisa responded shortly.

Taylor actually stopped her walk in surprise at the bitterness in the thinker's tone. She almost seemed hurt.

"Well, I'm doing okay," she said uncomfortably. "Thank you for asking," she continued genuinely. She hadn't meant to upset the other girl. "Speaking of, we aren't making the impact that we need too," she continued, directing the conversation away from further awkwardness. "We have to strike the ABB where it actually hurts. Have you found the sister?"

"Yes," Lisa confirmed to Taylor's relief. "I was going to scout it out over the next few days an –,"

"No," Taylor cut in. "We do it tonight."

"But we don't have the proper intel," Lisa protested.

"This war has gone on for too long. We need to make a decisive move before something worse happens. And I'm not leaving a girl prisoner to villains when I can do something about it."

"I'm sure she's fine," Lisa said reasonably. "They can't risk harming her for fear The Painted Lady might revolt."

"I was talking about both of you," Taylor said, causing the girl on the other end of the line to take in a sharp inhale.

"Oh," Lisa replied after a long pause. "Thank you," she said, unable to fully veil her surprise, her voice a little softer and more genuine. "Right," the villain said after another long pause, voice regaining its usual confident flair, "text me the meetup spot and I'll let New Wave and Coil know we're ready to make our move. Hopefully they will be okay with the short notice."

"Understood," Taylor agreed, purposefully not drawing attention to Lisa's momentary loss of composure and ending the call.

One bit of business done and content with the good news from Tattletale, Taylor rolled through her contacts to make another call. Truthfully, she should have done this already, but, she'd been a bit distracted with all of the fighting. Bringing her phone up to her ear, she patiently waited for an answer.

"Welcome to Clockblocker's Butcher Shop. Where you can beat my meat, but you can't beat my prices. How may I help you?"

* * *

 **Clockblocker**

"Hello Clockblocker," a resigned voice answered his greeting.

Dennis' eyes went wide when he heard the voice of who answered his call. He cursed mentally, ignoring the amused look of disgust Gallant shot him for his greeting.

"Uhh, sorry about that Jiraiya. I didn't check the caller ID, what can I do for you?" He asked quickly, willing the independent hero to ignore his awkward greeting. He'd thought it was Aegis.

"Do you have some time to talk?"

Dennis practically melted into the floor in relief that the toad girl seemed content to overlook his little blunder. Most of the other people who had his Wards phone number would not have been so kind. A ghost of a shiver went down his spine at the thought of Sophia having been the one to be on the other end of the line.

"Sure," he said brightly, ignoring the curious look Gallant as he stood up to walk to a more secluded area of the Ward's hangout spot. "What's up?

"Wanted to check how Dinah is settling in."

At the mention of the newest Ward, Dennis found his gaze drawn to the cape in question. The precog was with Vista and the pair were currently trying to teach her little pink toad guardian how to play video games with them.

"She's doing alright," he said honestly, a part of him impressed that Jiraiya was following through and checking in on the young cape that she'd saved. Another part chastising himself for ever doubting that she would in the first place. "She gets quiet sometimes," he admitted. "Usually she hides in her room during those times. The toad is usually with her though, so at least she isn't alone."

"It takes a long time to get over the loss of a parent, let alone both of them," Jiraiya responded.

Dennis frowned into his phone at the heavy, knowing tone that the toad cape spoke with. The matter of fact tone from the independent cape could have only come from experience.

"She's getting along well with most of the other Wards," he added hastily in an attempt to drag the conversation back to a more hopeful bend. "Vista especially. They're trying to teach Kosuke how to play video games now actually."

"He'll enjoy that," she said amused.

Dennis was relieved to hear the other cape's tone lighten. "Speaking of the little toad you sent along," he began now that the topic was brought up, "he managed to send Shadow Stalker to la la land with some sort of knockout gas." He snickered as he recalled the situation, "She was so angry and embarrassed that she didn't even report it," he added gleefully, "she wasn't about to admit to getting knocked the fuck out by a toad the size of a house cat."

"I'm sure he had a reason," was the indifferent response from Jiraiya, not sounding overly worried about her toad assaulting a Ward. "He's there to protect Dinah after all," she continued leadingly.

Dennis grimaced in remembrance, "Stalker was getting a bit mean with her," he admitted in response to the implied question. "She can be kind of abrasive and doesn't really think about how what she says can hurt others. Doesn't really respect people that can't take care of things the physical way either. Little Ko didn't take kindly to it is all. It was a bit of an overreaction on both parts. Anyways," he continued hurriedly, not really looking to dwell on internal problems with the independent hero, "when were you gonna let me know that the little guy was a secret badass?"

"He has hidden depths," was the cryptic response.

"Come on," he wheedled, looking on as the toad in question who was doing surprisingly well at the cape themed fighting game the girls had gotten for him, "you can give me something more than that can't you? Your old buddy Clocky?"

He let out a triumphant grin when the normally reticent girl snorted in disbelief.

"I didn't just choose him because I thought he'd get along with her," she finally admitted. "I chose him because he has the ability and the drive to protect her."

"So he can do more than just the knockout gas," the time stopper surmised.

Jiraiya merely hummed in vague agreement.

Dennis frowned good-naturedly at the non-answer. Realizing that trying to get any more info from the toad girl would be a waste of breath, he decided to get to the heart of the matter.

"I assume you weren't just calling to check in on the newest member of the Brockton Bay Wards though," he inquired of the other girl.

"No," Jiraiya agreed. "Not just about Dinah."

"Hit me with it," he encouraged.

"I learned what Coil's power is."

Dennis' eyes widened in shock, "What? No, wait, how? Nobody's got anything on that guy, he's like a ghost."

"A contact from the Conclave. She was the one that told me about the meeting in the first place."

"Who was it?"

"Tattletale."

Dennis took his phone away from his face and stared at the device, not sure he'd heard right.

"Uhm… You are aware that she's a –,"

"A villain," Jiraiya interrupted, "yes, I know. Apparently Coil held her up at gunpoint and forced her to join up with him. It's gotten worse since I stopped him from getting his hands on Dinah."

"How bad?" He asked, doing his best to ignore the growing uneasy feeling in his gut. He hated it when the lines blurred and things started to shift into shades of gray. He preferred simple, with clear-cut good guys and bad guys. It made his life so much easier.

"Bad enough that she thought her best chance was to reach out to a hero for help," Jiraiya responded dryly.

"Right," he said, running his hand through his hair in agitation. Sighing explosively, he decided to shelve his skepticism on his fellow hero's information source and get to the important part. "Alright, what did she have to say?"

"According to her, Coil's got some sort of thinker ability that lets him split and experience two separate timelines. He can collapse whichever is the least satisfactory to him. Basically, he has two chances at everything."

"That's…. creepy," Dennis finally said as he tried to absorb the implications of such a power, "and terrifying. What would you call that?" He asked, falling back on his tried and true habit of rambling when uncomfortable, "creepifying?"

"I should have informed Armsmaster and Miss Militia," she admitted, easily navigating around Clockblocker's penchant for levity, "but, I was a little distracted at the time."

"I heard that was a bad fight," Dennis agreed in commiseration.

"I don't really want to talk about it," she deflected, though, not unkindly..

Stupid, he berated himself for his curiosity. He'd heard that fight had been particularly brutal. Had a body count too. Of course she wouldn't want to talk about it.

"Well," he spoke hastily, eager to change the subject, "speaking of Coil, I've got some news too." He continued at the interested noise from the other girl, "There's been a huge crackdown in the PRT. Everybody's talking about it. Our newest Ward has been helping Armsmaster a lot. The bossman has been spearheading the efforts to root out the corruption," Dennis informed the other hero. "They cleaned out four moles already. Three of which were apparently Coils, one guy who was selling information on the black market and another high ranking member who was using his authority to blackmail and extort people. Piggy's been on the warpath. All the PRT staff has been jumping at their shadows, afraid to stick a toe out of line," he said, snickering a little as he recalled the wary looks full-grown PRT agents and analysts were shooting at the 12-year-old precog.

"Should you be telling me all of this? For that matter, should you even know all of that?" The toad summoning hero asked. Her tone was a mixture of amusement and pride in Dinah for her contributions.

"Probably not," Dennis admitted carelessly to both questions, "and I trust you so whatever," he continued with a shrug despite the fact that the other hero couldn't see it.

"Thank you," Jiraiya replied softly after a beat. "I won't abuse that."

"I know you won't," Dennis assured as he shifted a little awkwardly, not anticipating how seriously the other girl would take his off-hand comment.

"Will you pass along what I told you about Coil to Armsmaster or whoever needs to know? Make sure Dinah is aware as well."

"Sure thing," Dennis agreed easily. "Though, are you sure about telling Oracle?" He asked hesitantly. "I mean after all that he did to her…"

"I promised her that I would help her with Coil," Jiraiya said firmly. "I won't keep this from her. She deserves to know."

"Alright," Dennis capitulated, "you know her better than me. If you think she can handle it, then she can."

"Thanks," Jiraiya responded gratefully. "Hopefully, I'll have some good news with the gang war situation after tonight too," she added. "We're making a move tonight. Should really hurt the ABB."

"Your friend Tattletale gonna be there?" He asked, his tone shifting to seriousness at the prospect of danger for his friend.

"Yes," she affirmed. "She's the one who gathered the intel for the strike. I'll be going along with Chemist and a New Wave representative as well," she added in an attempt to reassure the other hero.

Dennis bit his lip and frowned thoughtfully. He was starting to notice a trend with his new friend that he wasn't enjoying. Jiraiya seemed to find herself in more and more dangerous situations while he sat uselessly on the sidelines, unable to do anything but hope for the best. A familiar and increasingly frequent frustration at the restrictions that came with being an under-aged hero threatened to rise up.

"Do you trust her," he asked, in part out of curiosity on Jiraiya's thoughts on the villainous thinker, and in part to distract himself from his own unhelpful thoughts.

There was a long pause as the other hero considered her reply.

"I want to," she said honestly.

Dennis wasn't completely satisfied with the other girl's answer but sensed it was the best he'd get from the toad summoner. Maybe it was the best answer she had to give.

"Good luck," he told her. "And be safe."

"Will do," she replied. "And Clockblocker. Thank you."

He stared at his phone after the other cape hung up, mind awhirl with all that the other girl had told her. His eyes tracked toward Dinah who was cheering Kosuke on in his efforts against Missy in their game. The little toad was doing surprisingly well for someone that had likely never touched a game before. Dennis doubted that it would be enough to take out Missy though.

Seeing her having fun made the decision of who to talk too much easier. Armsmaster first then. That promised to be a far easier conversation than trying to broach the subject of Coil to the orphaned thinker. Besides, she was having fun now. He'd truly feel like an asshole to interrupt that just for information on her parent's murderer that could easily wait till later. It wasn't like the girl suddenly knowing his power would let her do anything proactive. Better to let her have fun for now with Missy and the toad.

Dennis shook his head incredulously as he made his way out of the Ward's area. Armsmaster being the easier option to engage in conversation. Dennis certainly never thought he'd have a reason to ever think that before.

* * *

 **Armsmaster**

"At least there weren't any civilian casualties," Miss Militia said heavily, squinting for a bright side to their engagement against the Empire and the ABB.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Director Piggot opined, in a rare display of optimism. "The only casualties were caused by the gang members and the Merchants. Our PR team is already spinning it to the populace. The Empire is losing some more of its sheen. They were a gang, yes, but generally seen as stable, almost akin to peacekeepers by the ignorant and the racist." The Director shrugged, "Now though? Open fighting in a crowded section of downtown? All that anyone sees now is thugs going at it without a care for the Average Joe while the Protectorate Heroes fought unyieldingly and outnumbered to protect them against the gang's wanton brutality."

"No mention of New Wave and the other independent heroes?" Militia inquired curiously.

Colin couldn't tell how his old teammate felt about that even as he understood the practicality behind the Director's actions. Perhaps she just felt that they deserved some acknowledgment for their contributions.

"They want positive PR, they can get their own PR team," the Director said with a shrug, "or do the right thing and join up with the Protectorate. New Wave might actually take a bit of a hit," she mused aloud, not sounding very concerned at the prospect, "they are technically a part of that little alliance. Jiraiya and Chemist are small-time enough that they'll probably fly under the radar." The Director shrugged again, "in the end, we aren't going to go out of our way to highlight their ties to that illicit alliance of theirs, but we're far more focused on sure that our Protectorate heroes are seen in the proper light." The Director sighed, "It's a little too much PR nonsense and politics for my taste," she admitted, "but in the end, it's an important part of the job."

Miss Miliita cocked her head as the absorbed what the Director had said and nodded her agreement, "Understood Ma'am."

"Jiraiya and Chemist are just as promising as we thought they'd be," Colin interjected, eager to get away from talks about public relations and focus on what he felt was the more important information.

"Agreed," Miss Militia said, shifting easily to the subject change. "Jiraiya seems to be very skilled in hand to hand combat in addition to her toads. I don't think it's a thinker assisted ability related to her powers either, just skill," she informed them, sounding a little impressed with the girl's abilities. "The two toads she summoned that go by the names Gamakichi and Gamatatsu showed that they have the capacity to combine their previously observed blaster abilities into an extremely powerful wind and water-based attack," she continued. The patriotic hero shook her head as she remembered the scene, "the blast was significant enough to take Fenja out of the fight even after she had grown nearly to full size."

Piggot's brow raised in surprise at the news. It hadn't taken the Protectorate long to realize that attacks were less effective on the brute twins the larger they grew. That Jiraiya's creatures possessed the ability to do substantial damage to the Valkyrie twins even while grown was significant.

"Those toads of hers seem to be getting stronger and stronger as the situation demands," she noted evenly.

Colin hypothesized that the Director wasn't at ease with that amount of destructive potential being outside of some kind of oversight. It would fit in with the character profile Dragon had built of her at his request. He was aware of his deficiencies when it came to social situations and had requested help from Dragon to overcome them as best he was able. All part of becoming a more efficient hero.

"Chemist was the real surprise overall," he observed. "His specialty appears to afford him a broad spectrum with which to act. His oxidizing agent proved particularly useful against Kaiser."

"I heard about that," Piggot interjected, "Forensics say that it's similar to what he used against Bushido. They were interested getting some for testing. We are unsure how the chemical would interact with someone like Hookwolf though, as his metal is a result of his changer ability."

Militia shot the director a curious look for the apparent non-sequitur.

"It was brought up as a possible counter to him once they realized what they were dealing with," Piggot clarified.

"More than likely the same chemical," Colin agreed.

He suppressed his irritation that Bushido had escaped custody for the second time during that fight after being defeated.

"What do you think of him, Colin?" Militia asked, curious at the opinion of the renowned and notoriously hard to please tinker.

Colin frowned thoughtfully as he examined what he saw of the independent tinker's abilities. Truthfully, for a likely unfunded heroic tinker, Chemist's current creations were more advanced than he'd generally expect them to be given the timeline they had for how long Chemist had been active. Whether that had anything at all to do with his exotic specialization, Colin couldn't say without more data about the other tinker's processes.

"Impressive but possibly limited," he said finally. "Everything he has seems to revolve around the chemical sphere delivery system he prefers. It affords him the equivalent to a wide array of ranged shaker effects. From the oxidizing agent to the sticky rubber cement which is akin to, but less effective than containment foam. Of more interest," he continued, speaking his thoughts aloud, "are his backpack and gauntlets. From what I was able to infer, his backpack holds the chemicals needed for his various mixtures and is used to create his chemical spheres in the field allowing him to adapt as the situation demands. The process is likely accomplished using programmed formulas."

"A computer backpack seems a bit outside of his specialty," Militia observed, asking for clarification.

Colin nodded agreeably, "From what I was able to tell through cursory examination, it is likely a complex and fragile mechanical device. Not easy to add or remove components. With a moderate budget and access to the proper tools and resources, I hypothesize that he would be able to easily improve it. If Chemist worked with a tinker that possessed a compatible specialty, Chemist could likely accomplish more than he would on his own. Kid Win could likely contribute to significant improvements even without knowing his specialty," Colin continued, "since his specialty, whatever it is, seems geared towards more traditional technology. However, the backpack itself isn't as far outside his specialty as it may appear," Colin elucidated, responding to Militia's earlier question, "Despite its unconventional appearance, at its core, it is simply a portable mixer to synthesize his chemicals.

"And the handgun that he was reported carrying?" Piggot asked, interjecting into the conversation between the two capes.

Colin had to stop himself from snorting derisively at the notion of calling the chemical tinker's device a handgun. "It's hardly a gun at all," he disagreed. "It has more in common with a potato launcher than any conventional arms. Like I said, all of what he's created seems to revolve around his spheres. The gun is included in that. All it does is give him more range for his spheres."

Piggot nodded in understanding, "So that is what you meant by limited. Still, by all appearances, the boy possesses a fairly useful set of abilities."

"They are useful," Colin agreed. "The versatility alone would allow Chemist to play an integral role in numerous situations." He frowned thoughtfully, "I simply suspect that his ability has further applications than he has explored."

"What are the prospects for convincing him to join the Wards?" Piggot asked, interested in having that potential under the Protectorate.

"Higher than Jiraiya," Colin answered promptly. "I gave him my card and offered to show him around my lab and share some ideas." He shrugged under the surprised stares from the other two, "I plan to have him spend most of the time with Kid Win should he accept," he clarified. "It would let him see the kind of resources we could offer him as well as get him familiar with a potential teammate."

"The soft sell," Piggot observed, her tone asking for his reasoning behind the decision.

"He appeared to be interested in seeing the labs when I brought them up," Colin explained promptly, "it seemed unnecessary to push harder, possibly even detrimental. Further, my attention was required to direct the post-battle efforts and I couldn't spare the time to go into further detail.

Colin was careful to keep his posture straight-backed and his face blank, displaying nothing but professionalism. The Driector wasn't reprimanding him for his reasoning he knew, simply a superior officer inquiring the reasoning behind a field decision, and he was confident that she would see the logic in his reasoning. However, he thought it best to display a professional face regardless.

Piggot was quietly thoughtful as she absorbed his reasoning.

"Understood," she said. "Given the situation it is my opinion that you made the right call," she continued.

Colin nodded in satisfaction, pleased his efforts were being noticed.

"He's more nervous on the battlefield than Jiraiya," Hannah observed in the ensuing quiet. "We hypothesized that they started around the same time, but she seems to handle herself much more ably than him."

"From what I could tell during the battle, he was much more erratic than Jiraiya, closer to panicking," Colin agreed with his old Ward teammate.

"That could be explained by their difference in training and physical ability," Piggot observed thoughtfully. "From the reports, he seems to prefer to keep his distance. Whether that is an extension of his nervousness, or simply where he feels he can best use his abilities is unknown."

The large woman's tone was spoken with an assuredness bred from the hard-fought experience she earned during her years of service as a PRT field agent. He mulled over the Director's words and nodded in agreement to her observations.

Further conversation on the independent capes and recruitment efforts were interrupted by a tentative knocking on the door.

"Come in," Piggot barked.

Colin raised a curious brow as Dennis strolled into the room, the teen in question was unfazed when he saw the Director with the Protectorate capes.

"What did you need Dennis?" Hannah asked curiously.

Dennis paused, seemingly trying to figure out how to word what he had come to say. Frustrated, he gave a shrug and spoke, "I know what Coil's power is," he said.

The part of his brain that wasn't absorbing the bombshell that Dennis had just dropped noticed that the teen seemed to be enjoying the stunned silence he had caused.

"Explain," Colin ordered.

* * *

 **Coil**

Coil was silent as he contemplated the plan of action suggested to him by his pet. He had assumed that he would have a few more days to explore other plans before he had to act, while Tattletale gathered more information on the defenses and safeguards the ABB put in place around The Painted Lady's little sister.

He hadn't counted on Jiraiya insisting on acting to rescue the girl right away. Although he thought, examining the new information on Jiraiya from a different angle, the independent cape's insistence on action suggested recklessness and impatience. Both of which could work to his benefit.

Decided, he turned to Tattletale, ignoring the resentful glare his thinker was aiming his way, "I'll organize a strike tonight as cover for your operations. Five of my men will accompany you to ensure your success," he continued.

The minute shifting betrayed that the she had probably caught his lie. Likely she knew the true reason he was sending so many of his mercenaries along for the mission.

It hardly mattered.

He had resigned himself to some amount of compromised information when he was forced to bring her closer to his operations. Coil mused on the consequences for his young thinker should she try to betray him as he stared at her thoughtfully, making sure to maintain his posture. A brief, whimsical thought was given to using a timeline to act out those consequences on his pet but cast it aside for now.

"You can go," he said dismissively, already turning to focus on more urgent matters.

She wouldn't dare make a move against him. He had been careful to illustrate very clearly her inevitable and painful fate should she ever try. Coil had to consciously ease his hand out of a clenched fist at the reminder that he was forced to rely on his current pet due to the loss of the far more valuable Alcott girl.

The knowledge that the cape responsible for the setback would soon be dealt with was a soothing balm on his rising irritation. Tampering with her phone had been a bit of a risk, but a manageable one. He doubted the girl had the experience or the technology to find out about the tracker.

Giving the information on Jiraiya to Lung had carried its own risks as well. It was hard to predict how that man would react.

It didn't matter anymore. Jiraiya's reckless decision to rush ahead with the rescue operation meant that he would be relying on his soldiers to arrange an accident for the girl. Then he could get his hands on the sister and have a valuable asset in the form of The Painted Lady under his control.

A slight shaking interrupted his thoughts, followed by a blinking light that signaled an alert for when his most unique guest was upset.

"Get back to work," he ordered, his voice cutting through the nervous silence that had ensued and startling some of his employees. "Brooks," he commanded, "Inform Trickster that Noelle could benefit from his attention."

He ignored the soldier after he nodded his compliance turned his mind to the dichotomy of Noelle. She represented both problem and opportunity. He had promised the Travelers that he would find a solution to her issues. Perhaps that would be possible once he got his hands on the Alcott girl, but his Tattletale's own efforts had proved fruitless. Discreet inquiries to a few less than reputable contacts had been to no avail as well.

Fortunately in the short-term, her deteriorating condition and increasing size meant that the Travelers would remain in his employ for lack of a better option as long as they still held out hope that he would find a cure.

He hadn't been happy for the need to rush to procure their services after the Undersiders failed to live up to his expectations. That Accord had been using their services at the time had been a stroke of luck in some respects he knew, but it had cost him more than he had liked to release them from their contract without offending his ally and sometimes friend and acquire their services for himself.

He needed to find some sort of diversion for the Travelers. Something to distract Trickster and keep his team busy. Having them spend so much time around his base was making a few of their members restless.

Perhaps a red herring, he considered thoughtfully. A possible lead for them to chase after. The illusion of progress might help calm Noelle's increasingly volatile temperament. Of course, when they inevitably found that his lead did not bear any fruit, it might do the opposite. Cause Noelle and by extension the Travelers to become disillusioned with his ability to help them.

Why must things be so complicated? He lamented privately to himself. It was the burden of his glorious purpose, it would all be worth it, he reassured himself, once he assumed his rightful place as the owner of the Bay.

But first, he had to start planning a strike for the Alliance as a distraction for the efforts to attain The Painted Lady's sister. If all went according to plan, by night's end, Jiraiya would no longer be a thorn in his side, both the Empire, and the ABB would be severely weakened, and he would have a new and dangerous cape in the form of The Painted Lady on retainer.

It was looking to be a good day he mused.

* * *

 **Abandoned Apartment Complex Above the Secret Base**

"Sorry I'm late," Taylor greeted as she walked into the main lobby of the apartment complex above her appropriated base. "Lisa," she greeted with a nod, taking a cue from the girl's unmasked state on what to call her.

She was sort of lax on her hidden identity Taylor noted as she waved at Chemist and carefully reciprocated the hug from Parian. She wondered if it was because Lisa was that desperate to earn their trust or if her power had granted some insight on them that it afforded the thinker villain the confidence to just unmask in front of relative strangers. Parian hadn't known her identity after all.

Taylor hadn't been sure of the wisdom of inviting a villain whose power was basically super intuition to the building above her secret base, but she didn't know a lot of secure places for a group of capes to meet up. And Taylor wasn't going to risk Parian to a possibly compromised location. The rogue had told her that she hated fighting, the thought of it seemed almost terrifying to the doll girl. Letting Lisa close to her base was worth the risk if she could ensure Parian wouldn't be put into that position. Besides, if this team up was going to work, she would have to start trusting Lisa at some point. Especially if she was going to help her hide from Coil afterward.

"How have you been Parian?" She asked, to get the doll girl to stop shooting distrustful looks towards Lisa.

"Better than you've been it seems," the rogue replied candidly, her gaze steady on the toad summoner's battered battle jacket.

"The coat did its job," she reassured the clothier, "I made it out the fight just fine." Taylor pointedly ignored the skeptical brow raise from Lisa and the outright scoff from Chemist.

"You're fine because Panacea was there," Parian mumbled as she turned away from the ruined jacket to the blue duffle bag that she'd brought with her. "I appreciate you trying to spare my feelings," Parian continued as she bent down to open the bag, "but I'd prefer you didn't lie. Your costume is ruined by the way," she went on, oblivious to the awkward nod Taylor had given her, "luckily for you, though," she said as she pulled out a familiar red jacket with a flourish, "Chemist and I managed to work out the kinks on our project."

"Something about chemical baths?" Taylor asked, trying to remember what the tinker had said about his latest project as Parian handed her the coat. She ran her fingers experimentally on the fabric, it felt different than the one she was wearing.

"Yeah," Chemist chimed in, "basically, we treated her fabrics with my mixtures. I had to work out a series of successive treatments that would build on one another and not react poorly with the previously treatment," he shook his head in remembrance, "it was a lot more complicated a process than I thought it would be when I first had the idea," he admitted. "It took a while to strike the right balance to make the effects we were looking for, and then we had to figure out how to actually make stuff with it."

"What do you mean?" Taylor asked as Lisa looked on off to the side. The blonde thinker had an impressed look on her face as she examined the jacket with a critical eye.

"Well at first we did it on the fabric itself, but then we found that it was too tough for her to actually work with and turn it into anything," he said, sounding embarrassed for not having seen that particular obstacle.

"We worked it out eventually," Parian dismissed. "You should have been there for the smell though," she added ruefully. "The main improvements made to your new costumes," she went on with a clinical professionalism, "is increased tear resistance and the inability to catch fire. It will be difficult for a knife to penetrate it, but not impossible," she warned sternly. "It should breathe much easier as well," she tacked on absentmindedly, once Taylor nodded her understanding that she would do her best to avoid all future stabbings. The rogue designer continued with her explanation, "This treatment was done to all of your costume, not just your jacket. However, we also added something to your jacket. I adjusted the inserts in your coat and added an extra layer of armored paneling into them. Sandwiched between the armor panels are packets of a chemical designed by Chemist."

"It looks like this," the tinker explained, holding up a squishy bag full of a thick green goop. "It's a kinetic diffusion gel. It doesn't look like much," he agreed, acknowledging the skeptical look on the toad summoner's face, "but it does the job."

He demonstrated his point by punching the bag with his free hand. Taylor watched on curiously, and then impressed as the bag firmed up before her eyes, becoming a solid mass as it dispersed the energy and slowly reverted to its liquid state.

An impressed whistle from Lisa reminded the chemical tinker of her presence, "It's bulletproof too," she commented, sounding sure of her observation, looking at the packet of gel with interest. "Or at least, you think it is."

"Theoretically, yeah," Chemist agreed hesitantly, shooting the villain an unsure look, "Better than Kevlar too because it doesn't lose its integrity after taking a hit. It would still hurt like a bitch though," he added as an afterthought.

"That does not give you permission to get shot by the way!" Parian interjected sharply, jabbing a finger accusingly at the toad cape.

Taylor raised her hands in submission, nodding in agreement even as she thought the doll girl was being a little over the top.

She wasn't that bad.

"You'll have to get used to the extra weight of the coat," Parian said, not sounding satisfied by her friends promise to avoid any future ballistics. "But the benefit is more than worth it."

"It's amazing," Taylor agreed, "thank you for putting so much effort into it."

It really was too. It sounded like just a step down from being tinker armor really. Far more than what most capes could expect from their costumes. Parian and Chemist apparently made a good team.

"It is," Parian agreed, "Maybe I won't have to make you yet another coat now," the doll girl said, a lightness in her tone took out the sting of the words. "Now go put it on," she demanded as she shoved the duffle bag with the rest of the costume at the taller girl.

"I'm already wearing mine," Greg added, smoothing the front of sleek white lab coat he was wearing as if to demonstrate.

It looked a little less armored than hers from what she could see, but he wasn't as fit as her from what she'd seen of him in action, and he seemed to work best at a distance. Taylor could appreciate the logic of armoring him with speed in mind over conventional protection.

Or perhaps he just didn't want to deal with the weight she thought a little uncharitably. Eventually, she was going to have to talk to him about starting to jog at the very least.

"I'll be right back," she said agreeably, walking to a neighboring room where she could change into her improved costume without having to worry about prying eyes.

Taylor shucked off her jacket and unhooked her sheathed blade from the small of her back as she began the process of switching out her battered costume for the new and improved version.

An unfamiliar sense of pride in her body sparked at the toned muscles of her arms and flat stomach, hard-won victories from the harsh training under the experienced eye of her toads.

Taylor shook her head to shake herself free of the pointless thoughts. She had more important things to worry about than old insecurities. She slid on the new version of the shirt she wore under her jacket. It was colored a dark burgundy, slightly darker than her jacket. It complimented her dark pants nicely. The wire mesh armor from her toads peeked out from the sleeves and ended at her elbows. The mesh armor had originally been a gift from her toads. It was the only part of her costume that wasn't being replaced. With the new, chemically treated fabrics and her jacket, the mesh armor was probably largely redundant, but she'd grown fond of it, and it had been a gift from her toads so it was staying.

Taylor put her blade back in its proper place across the small of her back and slipped on the most important part of her costume. She frowned at the unexpected weight. Parian was right, the increased weight of the hooded jacket would take some getting used to. An appreciative smile quirked the edge of her lips when she saw that Parian had made sure to incorporate the many pockets she preferred in her new jacket. The smile widened when Taylor saw the kanji for Oil on the left sleeve of her short sleeved coat was there as well. It was small, and most people likely didn't notice the embellishment during the heat of combat, but she took pride in the symbol that marked her as an affiliate of the Toad Family.

The increased weight of her coat and improved capabilities of her costume made Taylor grin confidently. She felt better armed and prepared than ever. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to thoroughly test her new gear's effectiveness tonight she thought to herself as she pulled the hood of the open coat up and affixed her new mask to her face.

As always when she caught her reflection while in her costume, Taylor found that she could hardly recognize herself. The figure before her looked competent and capable. The kind of person who wouldn't be fazed by danger, whether it was a thug, a villainous cape, or a group of particularly vindictive high school girls.

"You okay in there?" Parian asked from around the corner.

Jolted from her thoughts by the sound of Sabah's voice, Taylor bent down and began putting her old costume in Parian's duffle bag.

"Yeah, sorry," she answered. "I'll be out in a second."

Zipping up the duffle bag as Parian made a sound of acknowledgment, Taylor grabbed the bag and made her way back to the group.

"Pretty as a prom picture," Lisa complimented with a smirk as the toad summoner re-joined the other capes.

Taylor rolled her eyes but nodded in acknowledgment of the compliment nonetheless.

"Parian does good work," Taylor agreed, watching the cape in question preen from the acknowledgment of her skills.

"So," Chemist interjected, wanting to get to the heart of the matter, "if Tattletale is here, I assume we are making a move on The Painted Lady's sister?

"Actually," Lisa interrupted before Taylor could agree with his assessment, "there's a slight hitch on that end. At least as far as you are concerned nerd boy," she said with a nod at Chemist.

"What do you mean," Taylor asked with a frown, ignoring the spluttering Chemist.

"I mean that Chemist here made himself a little too shiny in the last battle," Lisa replied. "The alliance is planning an attack as a distraction while we make our move, and they specifically requested him and that rust mixture of his."

"And by 'they' do you mean who I'm thinking of?" Taylor asked.

"Coil," the blonde affirmed. "Though, nobody disagreed when he suggested it," she added on.

"Do you think he suspects anything?"

Lisa shook her head, "No," she stated confidently, "I think it's just a case of the rusting agent being a valuable tool against a few key capes. Even if it could only help against Kaiser or Bushido alone, that's reason enough to want him there," she added honestly.

Taylor leaned her head back in thought, ignoring the protests Chemist was aiming at Lisa about not wanting to be separated as she tried to work out what to do.

"Chemist," she said, interrupting before his protests could turn into an argument. She was probably saving him really, Taylor doubted that he could accomplish much in a war of words against Lisa.

"Yeah?"

"You'll have to go help out with the strike," she declared a little reluctantly.

"But," he protested.

"It's part of what we agreed to when we went to that meeting and agreed to the terms of the alliance," she interrupted firmly, though not unkindly. "It sounds like it will be a big deal, and they could use the help. Just stick with New Wave and you should be fine," she continued, ignoring the mutinous look on the tinker's face. She wasn't trying to be a jerk, but they didn't really have any other options in this situation.

"It would be sort of suspicious if you insisted on joining us on the rescue," Lisa offered as an olive branch.

"He'll go," Taylor agreed, "But Coil is going to pay for it."

Lisa and Chemist shared a confused look, not following the taller girl's line of thought as Parian looked on.

"What do you mean?" Chemist asked curiously.

"Ohhhh, that is good," Lisa said with a mischievous grin. Her tone had an almost manic glee to it at the prospect of screwing over Coil.

"Anyone want to share with the rest of the class," Parian chimed in dryly.

"Chemist has often mentioned how the components for his mixtures don't come cheap," Taylor replied with a little smirk of her own hidden beneath her mask. "Just this last battle he mentioned that he was running low, right?" she asked, directing the question to the tinker in question.

Chemist nodded in agreement with her words but still looked confused as to where this was going.

"Well," she continued, "if Chemist's rusting mixture is so important that they specifically requested him for the attack, I'm sure Coil won't mind picking up the tab when we inform him that Chemist won't be able to contribute much with his chems because he's running dangerously low on materials."

Understanding dawned in the tinker's eyes behind his goggles, "You think that will work?" He asked curiously.

"It will," Lisa confirmed gleefully, "he already went ahead and promised that for the upcoming battle. It has already proven extremely useful against several of the most powerful capes in the city. New Wave and Faultline wouldn't be happy to learn they didn't have access to it after they already planned around it. Coil can't risk them backing out of the attack if we're making our move tonight.

Taylor nodded in understanding, taking the villain's word at face value, "I suggest you make a list," she aimed at Chemist. "We can figure out a number to give Coil for how much it will cost."

"Don't be cheap about it either," Lisa added, "Price is of absolutely no concern," she said with supreme satisfaction.

"So you two are heading out?" Parian asked as Chemist began writing down his list.

Taylor glanced at Lisa who had broken from her satisfied grin to give her a more serious nod in return.

"Yeah," she said, "we should get going soon. We still have to meet up with the New Wave representative and Coil's mercenaries."

"It's Glory Girl by the way," Lisa said, identifying who New Wave was sending along.

Taylor nodded at that, ignoring the sour tone from the villain. Taylor didn't really care if Lisa felt uncomfortable working with other heroes, personally, she was glad to have the invulnerable flier on her side. They had no idea what kind of resistance or complications they would encounter during their rescue. Somebody like Glory Girl, who was virtually invincible, would be a great boon when they were facing a lot of unknowns.

"Be careful okay? I know that you just got your new costume and that you want this to succeed, but don't use it as an excuse to be reckless," Parian implored.

"I'll be careful," Taylor agreed easily. She tried not to be insulted when the rogue cape radiated skepticism of her promise.

You melt your hand one time and people will never let you forget it she thought to herself sarcastically.

"Ready to go," Lisa asked as she reaffixed her mask to her face, hiding her freckles and blending the lines of her face.

Taylor nodded in agreement as she marveled once again how the other girl managed to radically alter her appearance with a simple domino mask and change of hairstyle.

"Let's head out," she affirmed.

"Remember to turn the alliance phone on when we get close," Tattletale reminded as the pair walked out of the apartment building with a last goodbye to Chemist and Parian.

* * *

 **ABB Safe House**

"What is it with these guys and warehouses," Gamakichi asked as they observed the building The Painted Lady's sister was being held.

"To be fair this one was converted into a sort of living space," Tattletale observed from where she was viewing the building through a pair of binoculars.

"It's because their territory encompasses the docks," Taylor spoke up, answering her toad's question. "After the shipping died out, a lot of the warehouses became abandoned. The criminal and destitute use them for whatever they need to. Some squatters use them for shelter, and the Merchants have claimed a few, but they are largely under ABB control," she explained.

"Do we have an ETA on when Glory Girl will arrive?" one of Coil's mercenaries inquired from where he was examining his rifle with an ease born of repetition.

Taylor frowned at the soldier and let Tattletale deal with them. Coil had sent along five mercenaries, all nearly identical in their tactical gear aside from a slight variance in body type. The team radiated experience. They had a sort of coldness to them in their interactions, an emotional detachment that Taylor found worrying, almost threatening. She didn't want anything to do with them.

"I'm going to get a better idea of what we can expect," she told Tattletale, going through the motions of a summons as she ignored the mercenaries.

A pile of small toads scrambled out from under each other as the plume of smoke dissipated. She chained together another set of signs for her toad's eye technique as they sorted themselves out.

A sharp, commanding croak from the scouting toad with the dark green stripe got the little toads into formation as they waited for their summoner's instructions. She noted with amusement that the de facto leader of her preferred group of scouts was still wearing his crown made of candy wrappers. The little guy took his position as leader seriously it seemed.

"Give me some eyes in that building over there," she said, gesturing to the ABB safe house. "Make sure to stay hidden. I want an idea of any sort of resistance we can expect and keep an eye out for a girl who they're keeping captive. She should be around 16 or so," she informed the squadron.

The toads croaked their assent and began hopping away to follow their orders.

"Sukoshi," she spoke, before the little king could leave.

The scout leader turned back with an inquiring croak.

"Hey guys," a voice interrupted her before she could speak.

Turning around, she found that Glory Girl had joined them. Her white costume like a beacon in the night, standing out in stark contrast to the muted colors of the rest of the group.

"Nice eyes," she complimented when she noticed the change to the toad summoner's look. "They do anything special?"

Taylor nodded in greeting to the brute, "One second please," she requested before turning back to the little toad who was waiting impatiently.

 **Glory Girl**

She huffed a little when the taller girl turned away from her to hand something to the little toad she was talking to.

Was that thing wearing a crown?

Victoria shook it off and just added it to the list of strange things about her new friend.

A distasteful frown marred her features when she took in the mercenaries and villain that made up the rest of their little team. She was not looking forward to working with them. It made her uncomfortable and restless to be so close to those mercenaries of Coil's without shoving her fist in their faces.

Tattletale was a whole other issue altogether. She never had a run in with the thinker before, so she didn't really know much about her. But she was an experienced villain and good people didn't tend to join cape gangs. The best thing that could be said about Tattletale was that she wasn't known to have a reputation for violence, which wasn't saying much when she had somebody like Hellhound on her team. The thought reminded Victoria that it had been a while since she had heard anything from the other members of that team but shelved it for now as unimportant.

Jiraiya smoothly rose from her crouch and turned to face her, apparently done conversing with her little toad. The toad summoner made for an intimidating sight. Or she would have been intimidating, had Victoria not been invulnerable. The strange and exotic eyes peering beneath the hood of her open battle coat, the dark colors of her costume and toned arms on display from the short sleeved coat the master cape favored all combined into a coherent vision.

All in all, Victoria approved of her new friends look. There was no reason a hero couldn't kick butt and look good doing it in her own humble opinion. Jiraiya managed to strike the right balance of intimidating and competence that lead to the impression the master cape was more experienced than she really was.

There were rumors online that Parian was responsible for the toad cape's look. If so, the rogue did very good work. Victoria watched curiously as the little toad hopped away, something slung across its back. Before she could make out what it was, Jiraiya spoke up.

"Sorry," the taller girl apologized, breaking Victoria from her extraneous thoughts, "just some last minute instructions. My eyes let me see what my toads can see," the brunette continued, in answer to her earlier question. "My toads are scouting out the building now, trying to get a bead on where the sister is and what opposition we can expect."

Victoria whistled, a little impressed.

"Never thought toad powers could be so cool," the blonde admitted. "Still," she continued, puffing out her chest in a mock boast, "it's nothing compared to flying and invincibility."

She was gratified when the other girl just rolled her eyes, "they're pretty great," the toad girl agreed as she walked over to join up with the others.

Reluctantly, Victoria followed the other girl over to the villains and the larger toad who she recognized from the previous battle.

"If it isn't Bench-press Barbie," Gamakichi greeted with a smirk, "what's up?"

Victoria grinned in appreciation at the large toad's snark, "Not much Frogger," she responded in kind, her grin widening at the scowl the red toad shot her, "just getting ready to save the day as usual," she said airily as she pointedly ignored the group of mercenaries that Coil had sent along.

A conspicuous cough from Tattletale broke their levity. Frowning, Victoria felt a prickle at the edge of her senses at the significant look the villain shot at Jiraiya, instinct, born from years of being a hero in Brockton Bay flared up and warned her to get ready.

Gamakichi's face shuttering into a serious mask told her that she wasn't misreading the situation. She tensed slightly, getting ready to act if she had too when Jiraiya responded to the villain.

"It's that time already?" Jiraiya asked seriously.

The soldiers were picking up on the atmosphere as well, looking at the pair with a curious wariness as Tattletale responded with a nod.

Without any more warning, Jiraiya lashed out with a taser that she'd somehow drawn from her coat without Victoria noticing, pressing it into the gap in the body armor of a startled mercenary who clutched fruitlessly at the stun gun hitting his neck before falling down in a heap.

Gamakichi lashed out with his tongue as a startled soldier reacted quicker than his fellows and brought his rifle to bear. The powerful appendage broke through the soldier's gun and sent the mercenary flying backwards, tumbling into a rough roll as he impacted the ground and didn't get back up.

Victoria had a severe frown on her face as she easily bent the barrel of a rifle that was being aimed at an unaware Jiraiya's blind spot backwards, bending the metal and rendering the gun useless. Victoria ignored the toad who was handily dealing with another mercenary as she followed up with a casual backhand that ended the fight for that particular soldier.

She winced internally at the sound of breaking bone. She had tried to moderate her strength on that blow, but it looked like it hadn't been enough. She could already hear her sister's tired scolding in her mind.

Shaking it off, she flew to where Jiraiya was dealing with the last mercenary and effortlessly ended the fight for the other cape.

There was a brief stillness as they checked to make sure all of Coil's soldiers were out of the fight.

"Normally I wouldn't mind smashing a few of Coil's thugs," Victoria stated flatly, "but, I'm also not normally a representative in an alliance with said villain getting ready for a rescue mission." Victoria knew from the grimace on Tattletale's face that her aura was blazing, she could feel it, coursing like an electrical current through her body, gaining in strength with her emotions. A part of her was impressed that Jiraiya met her gaze squarely, not visibly showing the effect that her aura had on her. She had seen her aura's effects on the criminal element of Brockton Bay enough times to know how potent it was.

"I trust you," Victoria continued shaking off her diverting thoughts, "You've saved my family. And my sister seems to like you which is a more impressive feat than it seems," she said, pointedly ignoring Tattletale as she rifled through the belongings of a downed mercenary, her eyes squarely on the tense hero before her.

Nonetheless, she made a mental note that the villain was now armed as she appropriated a pistol and a stun gun from the incapacitated soldier.

"So I also trust that you had a very good reason for what you just did," Victoria finished, waiting for the red-coated hero to explain herself.

Victoria was careful not to show the relief she felt on her face when Jiraiya met her expectant stare with a serious nod. When she thought of the other hero, Victoria's primary feelings were of extreme gratitude as she recalled the near miss that had almost resulted in her losing two of her family members. She really hadn't wanted a reason to be on the opposite side of the girl who saved her aunt and cousin's lives.

"I do," the toad summoner confirmed.

Victoria really hoped it was a good one.

"Let's hear it," Victoria prompted, crossing her arms over her chest, shooting an expectant look at the toad summoning hero.

* * *

 **Taylor**

"Right," she said to herself quietly, resisting the urge to sigh.

Realistically, that had gone better than she could have hoped it would. Glory Girl hadn't tried to stop them from taking out the soldiers. Glory Girl had even helped them, trusting her enough to follow her lead and that she had a good reason for her actions. That was a little humbling really, that the other girl could trust her so easily when Taylor herself struggled so much to do the same with others.

"Well?" Victoria asked, impatience edging her tone.

"Sorry," Taylor replied, "just getting my thoughts in order." Shaking her head as if to rid herself of distracting thoughts, she continued, "the mercenaries were going to try and kill me," she admitted finally.

Glory Girl showed a surprising amount control by managing to hide her surprise aside from a brief widening of her eyes, "What do you mean? Why would they do that? And how do you know?" she asked, rapid fire.

"She knows because I told her," Tattletale spoke, inserting herself into the conversation. "I happen to be in the unfortunate situation of being forced to work for Coil," she continued, easily ignoring the suspicious glare from the New Wave hero. "Jiraiya here promised to help me escape from him," she continued. "As for the why," Tattletale went on, addressing the earlier question with a shrug, "it's simple, he gets to kill the cape responsible for stopping him from grabbing Oracle and he can take The Painted Lady's sister for himself, gaining the services of a powerful cape. That's what we call a two birds, one stone scenario," she added helpfully to the shocked brute.

Taylor broke in hastily before the much stronger blonde could take offense to Tattletale's mocking tone, "She's right," Taylor admitted, "Tattletale approached me after the Conclave let out."

"Oracle," Glory Girl finally said after taking a long moment to adjust to the new information, "He was trying to kidnap the new Ward?" she asked, threads of anger beginning to emerge from her tone.

"Yes, before she joined" she affirmed. "One of my toads saw her running away and rescued her while I was fighting a bunch of ABB capes."

"I heard about that fight I think," the other girl noted absently, still mulling over the new information. Her eyes sharpened as she addressed the taller girl, "and you just trusted information given to you by a villain named Tattletale of all things?" She asked, blatantly ignoring the fact that said villain was two feet away and rolling her eyes at the question from the brute.

"Love you too," Tattletale mocked under her breath.

"Do you trust her?" Glory Girl demanded, ignoring the villain and asking the question that she was dancing around.

Taylor was quiet as she contemplated the question. This marked the second time that she had been questioned about her apparent trust in Tattletale. First from Clockblocker and now from Glory Girl. A part of her recognized that it might be a sign. A hint to take a closer look at her decision regarding the villain. A larger part of Taylor remembered the exhausted girl she had met after the Conclave, barely held together bravado and the possibility of hope.

Tattletale looked on, keenly interested despite herself as Glory Girly waited for her answer.

"I want to," she said finally, echoing the answer that she had given the time stopper.

Taylor didn't see Tattletale's reaction to her words as she kept a steady eye contact with Glory Girl. The blonde brute stared at her as she took in her answer.

"Okay," Glory Girl said finally, "okay," she said again, mostly to herself this time. "There is clearly stuff at play that I don't know about," she said aloud. "But if what you said about Coil is true, then taking out his mercenaries was for the best. Look," Glory Girl said frankly, "this is getting a little convoluted for my liking. I prefer to take care of villains the old-fashioned way," she declared unashamedly. "But, I'm going to trust you for now if you say that you see something in her worth listening to," Glory Girl stated with a dismissive wave at Tattletale who responded with a sarcastic bow of thanks. "I am really not happy about this situation," she stated plainly, making no effort to hide the fact, "but we have other stuff to focus on for now," she finished, effectively ending the conversation.

"Thank you," Taylor said sincerely even as she turned the majority of her attention to the information that she was receiving from her toads.

"What are you seeing?" Tattletale asked, realizing what the other girl was doing.

"Not as bad as it could be," she said slowly as she took in what her toads had to show her. "Actually, fewer guys than I thought there would be," she said a little confused.

"Not really surprising," Glory Girl answered, "despite holding up well against the Empire, the ABB doesn't have the same numbers. They're probably stretched pretty thin, not to mention that this location is supposed to be a secret. Nobody is supposed to even know that The Painted Lady has a sister."

Taylor grimaced even as she acknowledged the logic in Glory Girl's words, "Not like they need them it seems. Bushido is there."

"Does he have a new steam pack?" Tattletale asked with a small frown.

"No," Taylor responded relieved, making a fist as phantom pain from the awful injury she'd sustained echoed from her hand at the thought of the device. "He's limping," she continued her observations, "must be still injured from the last fight."

"You mean when you pinned his foot to the ground with your huge knife," Tattletale inquired sarcastically.

"Probably why he's pulling guard duty," Taylor continued her train of thought, ignoring the unhelpful interjection from the blonde thinker.

"He's mine then," Glory Girl said easily.

"Are you sure?" she asked, shooting the other girl a worried glance.

Glory Girl snorted dismissively, "I forget sometimes you're so new at this with how competent you generally are," she observed. She shot the toad summoner a confident grin, "Don't worry," she continued, flexing her fists, "I can take him on easy."

Taylor gave her an unsure look but nodded, trusting that the more experienced hero knew what she was doing. She was distracted from her worry when her toads finally got their eyes on who they were looking for.

"I found the sister," she said aloud even as she drank in the details from her toads. The girl was probably around her own age, maybe a bit older, and she shared many of the same features as her sister. Dark almond shaped eyes, a heart-shaped face, and her hair was tied in a ponytail with her bangs dusting her forehead. She was nearly as beautiful as her older sister, though not quite as striking. Taylor was relieved to see that she didn't seem harmed in any way. There were dark smudges under her eyes and other minor signs of stress, but that was to be expected given her situation. She looked about as well as could be expected for a girl who was being held captive to force her sister's cooperation.

Taylor was distracted from her other observations when she saw something worrying. "Crap," she muttered to herself, not able to fully contain her dismay.

"What is it?" Tattletale asked.

"A complication," she replied. "She's okay," Taylor continued, "but, she has a metal strip strapped around her neck. It looks like it might be tinker-tech. Probably Bakuda's work," she guessed sourly.

The two blonde capes exchanged an unsure look in a rare display of synchronicity.

"I might be able to do something about it," Tattletale, said eventually. "Maybe," she continued. "I'll have to get a closer look to see what I can figure out before I can say more."

Taylor wasn't really enamored with the unsure tone the other girl used but it wasn't like they had any better options.

"Okay," Taylor agreed, as she did her best to mentally push aside her worry, it wouldn't serve her now. "Then let's get started. Kichi will deal with the unpowered thugs at the front," she went on, shaping out her plan. "One of my toads inside will draw Bushido's attention for you to deal with," she continued with a nod at Glory Girl who was looking much more at ease at the prospect of getting to actually punch a villain over working alongside one, "and you and I are going to find the girl and see if we can do something about that bomb," she finished with a look towards Lisa.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Glory Girl stated her agreement, the slightest bit of impatience coloring her tone.

"Any last words oh fearless leader? A rousing speech perhaps?" Tattletale teased.

Taylor shifted a bit, uncomfortable with the label but accepted it for now.

"Sure," she replied dryly as she hopped on Gamakichi's back, "Don't die."

* * *

 **Bushido**

Bushido grunted in surprise when the laptop Lung had given him gave a sudden beep. Curious, he peered at the small screen, eyes narrowing when he saw that the GPS was active.

"Where are you toad bitch?" He muttered to himself as he gave a few clumsy taps to the keyboard.

Surprise flashed across his face when the screen zeroed in on the signal. The computer showed the cape's phone was active somewhere inside the building. The surprise faded into an ugly grin as he realized what that meant.

"She is after the girl," he realized aloud. "Be alert," he ordered his underlings, who had looked to him at the sound of his mumbled words. He noted with approval that none of them flinched at the sound of his voice.

"Boss?" An ABB member asked curiously, reaching for a shotgun that he'd kept near at hand.

"We have intruders," the brute replied, standing to the entirety of his intimidating height. "And I have a debt to settle."

Without another word, he left his four underlings behind and began walking to where the laptop indicated the signal was. Thoughts of ugly violence and revenge filled his mind, warming his body and making it easier to ignore the slight limp he had from the last battle.

His hands clenched in preparation for when he wrapped them around that irritating girl's throat. He would show her the error for every bit of agony that she and her allies had dispensed on him. He would pay her back tenfold for each defeat and humiliation that he'd suffered recently.

An ugly grin was stretched across his face as he stepped around the corner, "You were foolish to co –," his speech halted from the unexpected sight he was greeted with.

A small toad with a dark green stripe on its back was playing what appeared to be Frogger on a sleek looking cellphone stamped with a stylistic toad insignia. The crown made of candy wrappers perched on its head only added to the surreal image.

"What is the meaning of this nonsense," Bushido snarled aloud, casting his gaze to try and find the elusive summoner.

The toad croaked irritably as the loud noise interrupted its concentration and caused it to lose a life. The toad sent an angry series of croaks at the armored giant, following it up with a webbed middle finger to ensure its message didn't get misinterpreted.

Bushido growled at the offense and made to take a step forward to squash the irritating amphibian. Before he made his move, he felt a tapping on his shoulder. Reacting instinctively, he spun and lashed out with a heavy punch, all of his considerable strength behind the blow.

He stared stunned as his huge armored fist was stopped cold by a small delicate hand.

"What?" He mumbled, uncomprehending, shock twisted his features at the sound of his armored gauntlet giving a distressed creak from the pressure. He struggled for coherence as an unnatural, terrifying awe threatened to unmake him.

Glory Girl gave a cocky smirk at his distress, "My turn," she said and lashed out with a vicious haymaker.

* * *

 **Taylor**

Taylor watched, dumbfounded, at the ease with which Glory Girl handled Bushido. The armored brute had traded mostly even with Aegis during their battle with each other.

Glory Girl on the other hand, proved that her strength was several levels above both of them as she effortlessly caught his armored fist in the palm of her hand, smirking, she replied with a blistering punch that crumpled his chest armor and sent the ABB brute crashing through a wall into an adjacent room.

So much for stealth, Taylor thought a little hysterically as the blonde flew after her downed foe.

"Head in the game sis," Kichi reminded as he leaped to take on a small group of gang members who had come to explore the sound of fighting, taking them out before they could let on what was happening.

"Follow me," she told Tattletale as they raced ahead, careful to edge around the fighting. From the corner of her eye, she caught Kichi letting loose a gleeful snicker as he smashed one thug into another, using his improvised bludgeon to prevent the second thug from firing off his shotgun.

"Over here," she motioned, as the pair came to a stop in front of a bolted door. Thankfully they were on the outside of it and were able to easily unbolt and open it.

They entered, finding themselves in a room that had been converted into a modest living area, the room's sole occupant staring at the intruders with a wide-eyed stare.

"Who are you? What do you want?" the girl asked, her voice caught between worried and hopeful, a pen clenched in her fist and held defensively before her.

"Capes," Taylor said for simplicity's sake as the Asian girl took a step from Tattletale who had invaded her space in an effort to get a closer look at the bomb strapped around her neck like a macabre choker necklace. "We're here to rescue you."

"Did my sister send you?" The captive girl asked, suddenly almost painfully hopeful.

Taylor exchanged an awkward look with Tattletale, "Not exactly," she hedged. "It's complicated, but, basically the ABB and the Empire are at war. We learned of your situation during our investigations," she continued, "our hope is that with you safe, your sister won't have to work for the ABB anymore.

Some of the defensiveness in the guarded girl's stance eased once she explained her reasoning.

"Who are you two?" She asked again, now sounding more curious than worried.

"I'm Tattletale," Lisa spoke up, wincing a little from whatever information she had gotten about the bomb, "a somewhat reforming villain and somewhat damsel in distress," she continued, sounding a little deprecating as she described her current situation. "And tall dark and broody over there is Jiraiya, toad summoner extraordinaire and hopefully half of the answer for that pretty little necklace of yours. And you are?"

"Lily," she answered softly, reaching up to clasp the bomb attached to her neck self-consciously.

Taylor nodded to the girl in what she hoped was a reassuring manner before turning to Lisa, "What are you getting from it?"

"A Bakuda special, though, that's hardly a surprise," Lisa stated. "It's a fairly simple device for her all told which is the good news. The bad news is that once we tamper with it, we'll only have a few seconds to get rid of it before it liquefies... well, Lily," she said with a shrug and a grimace.

Taylor sighed mentally and wished that Tattletale had presented that information a little more politically. Though to her credit, Lily seemed as though she were handling the news surprisingly well.

"I have an idea for getting rid of the bomb," she began, "but, I don't have a way of getting it off of her fast enough. Not without hurting her," she said, shooting a doubtful look at the metal collar that was attached to the bomb.

She was surprised when her declaration was met with a smirk by Tattletale, "that's okay," she said, "I'm sure Lily can help us out with that," she said, shooting a sly look at the startled girl.

Rather than looking shocked, Lily instead appeared resigned, "Is this why they call you Tattletale?" she asked with a frown.

"Would somebody like to clarify," Taylor snapped irritably.

"I am a cape," Lily admitted.

Taylor blinked at the news.

Okay, she hadn't expected that.

"How did you know?" Taylor asked Tattletale.

The villain gave a satisfied grin as she replied, "the pen when we broke into her room," she said. "She wasn't holding it to stab, but to throw. And she expected that to protect her somehow."

"You discovered that I was a cape from the way I held my pen," Lily asked incredulously.

"It's what I do," Tattletale replied smugly.

"What can you do?" Taylor asked, curious. "For that matter, if you're a cape, how come the ABB hasn't tried to use you as well?"

"Because they don't know that I am one," Lily replied. "I promised Hisako that I wouldn't tell them. It was supposed to be our trump card to help us escape. Then Lung had Bakuda put the collar on me so he wouldn't have to waste so many men guarding me. I think he thought it would hurt my sister more too," she added darkly, "to see me collared like an animal. My life at the mercy of a flick of the switch." She sagged, the hatred leaving her tone as she continued tiredly, looking older than she really was, "I can get the collar off with my power," she admitted. "But the bomb would probably go off before I could hope to get away. Bakuda was very happy to explain to me what would happen if I tried tampering with the collar," Lily added with a frown.

"What is your power exactly?" Taylor asked, grimacing at the other girl's explanation and doing her best to divert the conversation to a less dark and more currently useful subject. Privately, Taylor also thought that her sister was rarely pleased with anything.

"It's hard to explain," Lily admitted, her tone thoughtful, a welcome change from her earlier timbre. "I can make things ignore physics?" She tried, though it sounded more like a question. Frustrated, she shook her head, "basically, most usefully, I can make something pierce anything. I also have extremely good aim and balance, and when my power wears off, it becomes stuck in whatever it pierced. I've never had a problem figuring out when and how much to charge an object," she said with a shrug, "I just know."

"Striker and thinker combo," Tattletale opined, nodding. "A nice one too. I can see why it wouldn't be very useful in your current situation though."

"Right," Lily agreed, "So I can imbue something to cut the collar off," she said. "But I can't do anything about the actual explosion, or guarantee that I completely destroy the bomb."

"And you only have one chance," Tattletale agreed in understanding.

"Thankfully, I think I have a solution of my own," Taylor said as she chained a set of seals.

Tattletale had an anticipatory grin as Lily looked on in confusion.

"You're going to contain the bomb with gang signs?" Lily asked confused.

Tattletales laughter was thankfully muffled by the explosion of smoke that signaled a summon.

"Not gang signs," Tattletale said dryly, her snickering mostly under control, "a toad."

The toad in question croaked in greeting.

"Okay," Lily said slowly, staring at the toad incredulously. "You have giant toads, and that's a thing," she mumbled to herself. Shaking it off, Lily continued, "Powers are strange and come in many forms," she continued, "so it isn't weird at all. Hisako's is kind of similar after all." She sounded determined not to overly react to the odd power. "Why is it so weirdly shaped? And what's in its mouth?"

"You're not weird," Taylor consoled the red toad at her feet who was shooting his summoner a plaintive look. "And he's shaped that way because he is a gourd toad."

"Of course he is. Why wouldn't there be gourd toads?" Lily mumbled to herself under her breath.

Taylor pointedly ignored the comment as well as the renewed and badly muffled snickers coming from Tattletale as she continued, "this guy specializes in a unique type of barrier. He sucks whatever or whoever he wants to in his mouth, and in his body is a huge area that is protected by a strong barrier. He should be able to take care of the bomb no problem."

"Trying to understand your toads makes my head ache," Tattletale complained as she stared at the red toad before her. "From what I can tell, he should be able to handle the bomb without injury," she said finally, holding her hand to her head in a vain attempt to ward off a headache.

"Thank you," Taylor said sincerely, glad for the independent confirmation. She had been mostly sure that he would be okay, but it was good to hear that Tattletale agreed.

Reaching into one of her coat's many inner pockets, Taylor drew one of her small throwing blades. "Here, Lily, take this. It's probably better than anything you have laying around in your room," she said as she handed the blade to the other girl.

The girl paused for a moment as she presumably used her power on the small knife. It didn't look any different from what Taylor could see but Lily looked satisfied with her efforts.

"Are we ready?" Lily asked, sounding remarkably steady for somebody who was about to cut a bomb off from around her throat.

Taylor looked to her toad and got a thumbs up in reply. Tattletale gave her assent as well and Taylor was about to reply when she got something interesting from her scouting toads scattered around the building.

"We are ready too," she said. "Looks like Glory Girl finished off Bushido and Gamakichi finished taking out the rest of the ABB gangsters a while ago, so let's get this over with."

"How do you know that?" Lily asked, momentarily distracted.

"I can see what my toads see," she replied with a shrug.

Lily just closed her eyes, she looked very much done with hearing about toads and toad related things at that moment.

"Right," she said. "And you're going to take me to Hisako afterward?" She asked, just to be sure.

"That's the plan," Taylor agreed.

"Okay, Lily said, taking a fortifying breath. "Alright, I'm doing it," she stated.

Without giving herself time to think, she raised the knife and carefully cut through the metal collar around her neck, her hands steady as she sliced through it with ease, stopping before she hit herself. The bomb collar began to fall to the floor as Lily stumbled backward.

Taylor didn't have time to marvel at the effectiveness of the other girl's power, they still had a live bomb to deal with.

"Go," she ordered her toad, even as he was already moving.

Grabbing the sealed stopper in its mouth, the toad took it out and snatched the bomb collar with his tongue, easily swallowing the tinker-tech explosive whole. Reacting quickly, the toad replaced the stopper. It all took less than a second

The three capes waited, tense for some kind of reaction. After counting out 10 seconds slowly in her head, Taylor felt the tension begin to ease with relief.

As if reading his summoner's mind, the toad flashed a squinty smile and a thumbs up.

A sigh of relief came from Tattletale's end. Taylor could sympathize. She felt like doing the same herself.

Lily fell to the floor, radiating relief, her hand shakily reaching up and tracing her now bare throat.

"It's over," Lily murmured quietly to herself, her voice thick with disbelief. Tears of relief welled at the edge of her eyes but didn't fall.

It hit Taylor suddenly just what they had put a stop to. Going by when The Painted Lady had 'joined' the ABB, Lily had to have been held captive for months. This was so much more than just striking out against Lung and the ABB.

"Is it okay to enter?" Glory Girl asked from the door.

"Hey," Taylor said as she greeted the other girl with a nod.

She could hardly believe that the girl before her had taken on Bushido with such ease. She had been clipped by a blow from him and had been sent flying, ribs severely bruised. Glory Girl for her part didn't even look winded. Her costume was barely even ruffled. Taylor hadn't really appreciated just how strong Glory Girl apparently was. That Alexandria Junior nickname wasn't just for show after all.

"Where's Kichi?" She asked, noticing the toad's absence.

"Tying up the thugs he took out and making sure Bushido doesn't get back up," Glory Girl responded, looking curiously at Lily who seemed to have mostly regained her composure.

"Are we going to see Hisako now?" Lily half asked half demanded, clearly eager for a reunion. Taylor could definitely sympathize with that. If she had been captive for that long, the first thing she would want to do when free is see her father.

A buzzing from her phone interrupted her answer. Frowning, she pulled out her real phone even as she mentally reminded herself to destroy the bugged one that Coil had given her. Thankfully, through the combined efforts of Tattletale and Chemist, they had been able to flip the script on that particular trap.

A pit formed in the bottom of her stomach as she read her new text from Chemist.

"Shit."

The curse came from Tattletale who was looking at the taller girl worriedly. "How bad is it?" The thinker asked.

Glory Girl frowned, realizing that the thinker had noticed something amiss, "What is it?"

"The alliance struck out at the ABB near the docks," Taylor began slowly, breaking her silence.

"Yeah," Tattletale agreed, "the idea was to draw members away from Lily and tie up as many of their resources as they could while we did the rescue."

"That part worked," Taylor agreed, slipping her phone back in her pocket. "But what we didn't count on was Kaiser striking back at the same time to avenge the attack on the Downtown area." Turning to Lily she spoke quickly as the urgency of the situation took over, "we have to get you to your sister quickly and try and get her out of the fight."

Lily nodded in agreement, not seeming overly concerned about a possible battle as long as she could see her sister.

"I feel like there is something you're not saying," Glory Girl stated as she floated after the other girls as the exited Lily's former cage.

"Lung is there," Taylor answered, not able to fully hide the worry in her voice as they made to meet up with Gamakichi. "And he's growing."

* * *

 **AN –** Okay, First things first. I had some CPU issues which meant that I had to re-do this chapter. Since this chapter is really long, that took a while. Hopefully the rather large length of the chapter sooths any irritation at the delay.

Second things second. I'm a lying liar who lies. If any of you follow this story on Sufficient Velocity or Speacebattles you'll know that I promised to end the arc with this chapter, and I meant too… but, well this is already like 30 pages. Next time, promise.

This was by far the longest chapter so far, and a lot happened here, so I'm eager to see what you all got out of it.

A quick point about the Coil part. His plan was a good one. Likely it would have worked too had Lisa not betrayed him. I'm trying not to make him unthreatening/dangerous, because that plan really would have probably killed Taylor if Lisa hadn't spotted the trouble. But even in canon, he never thought Lisa would be able to betray him/win one over on him, which was actually his downfall really. Here we see again, that underestimating her has cost him. Hope I conveyed it okay.

There's a lot of other stuff of course. As stated above, this chapter is long, but that was the only thing I wanted to point out on my end, to assuage any possible worries that Coil is being treated like a loser.

Anyways, yeah, I'm sick of writing after doing this chapter twice, so lemme know what you think or what interested you in particular, or whatever. Thanks everybody.


	31. Escalation 4-11

Escalation 4.11

"Lung?" Tattletale asked, her already tired and drawn face paling beneath her mask. The effect made the girl look ill.

Taylor suddenly recalled from the Conclave meeting the scene that Skidmark made. How he had goaded the thinker with the fact that it was an attack by Lung that lead to the death of one her former teammates and ultimately, to the dissolution of the Undersiders as a group.

She did her best to adopt a soothing tone as she responded to the thinker's question, "Don't worry, you're not coming with."

"I'm not?" Tattletale asked, trying to sound insulted but mostly just sounding exhausted. "Then where am I going? I can't exactly go back to Coil. Even if I would want to," She continued, and the disgust in her voice made the thinker's feelings on that idea clear for even the confused Lily, who had no idea what they were talking about, "it would be suicide after what we just did."

"Go to the place where we met earlier," Taylor ordered. "Find the basement. I trust that with Sukoshi and your power that you will figure out the rest. You'll be safe there."

"Sukoshi?" Lisa asked, ignoring the rest of her statement for the moment.

Taylor nodded her head toward the door as the self-proclaimed king of her scout troop made his presence known.

Hopping up to the humans while pointedly ignoring the strange looks some of them gave his homemade crown, the little toad gave a crisp salute to his summoner.

"Thank you for earlier," she greeted him, prompting a bit of enthusiastic preening from the toad. "I need you to escort Tattletale back to base and make sure that she stays safe."

The little toad with the dark green stripe gave another salute, eyeing the villain in question thoughtfully.

"What's he supposed to protect her from? Flies?" Glory Girl asked doubtfully. She raised her hands up defensively in the face of Sukoshi's baleful glare, "sorry cutie," she apologized, "but you don't exactly look like a heavy-weight."

Taylor let Sukoshi show how he felt about the New Wave member's comments through some vengeful croaks and colorful hand gestures as she met the shrewd look that Lisa directed toward her.

No doubt through a combination of her power and earlier examinations of the toad summoner, the villain knew that Taylor must have had a reason for believing that the little toad could save her should Coil catch wind of her location.

Taylor made an aborted motion toward Lisa when the villain suddenly gave a sharp wince, holding her head in pain.

"Shit," the thinker mumbled to herself, voice edging into a keening whine. "I'm fine," she said, motioning the toad summoner back. "I've just overtaxed my power today. Having to use it so much for Coil lately hasn't been exactly helping much either."

The blonde thinker took a fortifying breath and continued. "The little guy can help me out somehow if we get attacked," she said, sounding sure. "I just don't know how," she went on, a little frustrated before flinching in pain as the increased volume agitated her thinker induced migraine.

Glory Girl turned a surprised look towards Tattletale at her comments, missing the victorious look the vindicated toad shot her.

"You'll be fine with him," Taylor reassured.

Truthfully, Glory Girl wasn't wrong. Not really. Sukoshi's talents were wholly in scouting and remaining hidden. However, as a last resort, he, like all of her toads, was still capable of taking people back to Myoboku with him. She doubted that Coil had a way to the land of the toads.

Despite her poorly hidden anxiety and the obvious toll using her ability so much lately had taken upon her, the thinker looked a bit rebellious at the thought of being pushed off to the sidelines. After a long moment, as she internally wrestled with herself, the thinker's face eased into something like acceptance.

"Thank you," Tattle Tale said in what appeared to be genuine gratitude threaded with pure exhaustion.

Her clever use of makeup and costume wasn't able to fully disguise her worn state. Especially with her exhaustion. Taylor almost thought that the other girl looked a bit ill. Taylor mentally filed the thought away for further examination and gave Tattletale a reassuring nod as the possibly former villain made to leave.

With a perfunctory nod to Glory Girl and Lily as she walked passed them, the blonde thinker made her exit.

"Right," said Glory Girl, once the three were alone, "if we're done handing out irritatingly vague instructions to the villain, maybe we can do something about the fact that the two largest gangs in the city are battling it out while Lung is there!"

Taylor winced as the brute's voice continuously increased in pitch as she related how dangerous the situation was.

Strangely, aside from a bit of impatience, Lily didn't look overly concerned about the prospect of her sister being in such a dangerous situation.

Was she that confident in Hisako's abilities?

Taylor thought back to their brief battle with a wince. Maybe Lily had a point. She'd certainly never felt so outclassed in her life before. The tattooed villain had even managed to take on Gamakichi through pure tactics and skill.

She shook her head sharply.

Focus.

"You're right," Taylor acknowledged to the visibly agitated Glory Girl.

"Good!" The blonde exclaimed hastily. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" The New Wave member practically vibrated as she hovered in mid-air, looking like she wanted nothing more than to fly off into the conflict.

Taylor winced at what she was about to say.

"You'll have to catch up with us."

The change on Glory Girl's face from impatient to outrage happened almost too quickly for her eyes to follow.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Despite the expression on her face, Glory Girl's words came out slow and deliberate. Somehow, the effect was more dangerous than if she'd been raging at Taylor.

"Somebody has to make sure that the ABB members and especially Bushido are taken into custody. You're the fastest of all of us and the only one strong enough to make sure Bushido won't be a problem."

Glory Girl looked ready to scream in frustration.

"Why can't you do it?" She asked hotly, her gossamer thin facsimile of composure disintegrating as she pointed an accusing finger toward the taller girl. "A lot of the toads I've seen you use are tough enough for the job."

"You're still the fastest of us," Taylor replied sternly.

Taylor did her best not to let the urgency of the situation affect her even tone. The last thing they needed right now was for this to devolve into a full-blown fight.

"And frankly, I think I'll be able to help more in the short-term than you will with the different abilities of my toads and their numbers on my side. Look," Taylor said in response to the still mulish expression on the blonde's face, "do you think that you can stop Lung?"

Some of the blonde's bluster faded at the frank question. For all of her incredible strength, even the girl known as 'Alexandria Junior' wasn't quite brash enough to answer that question in the affirmative.

Taylor was peripherally aware of Lily's impatient shifting. The other girl no doubt was far more focused on getting to her sister than an argument between her rescuers.

"What does it even matter anyways?" Glory Girl burst out in frustration, not having an answer to Taylor's earlier question. "Who cares if Lung's errand boy is free for another few days? My family is in the middle of what is probably the largest gang war in Brockton Bay's history and you want me to play babysitter to Bushido?"

"The people who Bushido injures and kills because we let him go care if he remains free," Taylor answered flatly. She did her best not to let the rising panic resulting from Glory Girl's aura affect the even tone of her voice as she continued, "You are a hero Glory Girl. You know what you have to do."

Taylor met the girl's defiance with a sternness that she was previously unaware that she was capable of. Just a few months ago she would never have had the confidence to meet somebody's eyes squarely in defiance, especially not somebody like Glory Girl.

Taylor carefully hid the sigh of relief when Glory Girl's face crumpled and the pressure of the brute's aura faded from her consciousness.

"Okay," the other girl whispered. Her normal vibrant tone subdued. "Please," she added with poorly hidden desperation, "look after them."

"I will do everything that I can," Taylor responded with a solemn nod.

Glory Girl gave a weak smile. "Thank you."

Taylor sent a questioning pulse through the bond she shared with Gamakichi and received an answering warmth in kind as she watched the blonde hero fly back into the building, no doubt to bring Bushido to the PRT's attention.

Good.

The toad had been paying attention while she relayed all of the relevant information. Hopefully, he'd taken the time to prepare for a war.

She wondered what her warrior friend would make of Lung.

Somehow she doubted that her toad would be intimidated in the least. Even if running away was usually the best course of action against someone like Lung, she couldn't see her brash Gamakichi giving an inch. In this instance, that little personality quirk of his made her more worried than proud.

The prospect of fighting Lung made her desperately wish that she had the capability to summon a toad like Gamabunta. She had no doubt that for all of Lung's ferocity that the old boss toad would put up more than an even fight. However, he was still out of her reach. Just the thought of using the amount of energy that would be needed to summon the Toad Boss caused her head to hurt.

Someday, though, she would be capable of bringing him to this world. Though, privately she hoped that she would never need too. She was very well aware of just what sort of threats would necessitate somebody like Gamabunta.

"Can we go now?"

The impatient voice of Lily jolted Taylor from her thoughts.

"Right, sorry," Taylor apologized.

"How are we getting to the fight?" Lily asked in reply, ignoring the apology in favor of urgency. It had been far too long since she'd seen her sister.

"Toads," Taylor stated, half as fact and half an apology.

She wasn't ignorant to the Asian girl's put out reaction to her toads. If she was in a more charitable mood, Taylor supposed that she could understand Lily's predicament. Toads were hardly the cuddliest of creatures. As it was, though, she just did her best to not take offense.

Lily closed her eyes in resignation and reflexively clenched her grip on the throwing knife the summoning cape had given her earlier.

"Go ahead," she said finally, managing a respectably even tone. "Let's get going."

Taylor nodded in reply even as she flipped her hands through her summoning seals. The signature blast of smoke followed by a rumbling croak from a massive toad announced Gama's entrance into Earth Bet.

"Gah!"

"What's wrong?" Taylor asked, whirling around to face the sound of the startled shout.

Lily didn't seem to have heard her, staring up at the massive armored toad with her mouth slightly agape.

"I didn't think it would be so big," she managed finally.

"He," Taylor corrected mildly as she eased out of her battle stance once it was clear that there was no immediate threat. "Not it."

Lily winced at the correction. "I'm sorry."

Taylor was pleased to see that the other girl had correctly addressed her apology to the large toad rather than to the summoner. It was something that people had trouble with she'd noticed. To acknowledge the sentience and intelligence of creatures so obviously not human. Even Parian and Chemist had struggled in the beginning.

The ever easygoing Gama croaked back with an amicable smile directed towards the Asian cape.

"It's okay," Taylor allowed, acknowledging to herself that she might be acting a little harsh towards the other cape. "You've had a very long day."

That successfully drew a snort from the other girl at the toad summoner's exaggerated understatement.

"To say the least," the former ABB captive agreed with feeling. "Uh, so, how do I get on?" She asked, looking at the massive toad doubtfully.

Gama heard the question and gave a cheerful croak, always ready to help out. The armored toad lashed out with his tongue and grabbed the startled girl who gave a shriek at the sudden assault. Lily's startled shout cut off mid-scream as she found herself placed gently onto the back of the armored toad.

"Thank you?" Lily asked, stunned, once the rattled girl was finally able to regain her composure.

The toad gave a cheerful croak in reply, satisfied at being able to help out his summoner's new friend.

"That's how," Taylor replied, thankful that her mask hid the amused grin as she reached into one of her pockets. "Here, take this."

Startled, the still distracted girl on the toad fumbled with the object that the toad cape had thrown to her.

"What's this?" Lily asked curiously as she finally got the object under control.

Taylor watched as the other girl critically examined the folded cloth curiously.

"One of my spare masks," Taylor responded. "Just because your sister doesn't have a choice in having a secret identity doesn't mean you can't still have one of your own."

Lily nodded in understanding as she unfolded the cloth, eyes widening in surprise at the way the material stiffened and naturally formed a shape identical to the toad summoner's own half mask, forming a shield that covered would cover her lower face up to her nose.

"How?" She asked, staring at the formerly seemingly innocuous square of burgundy cloth.

"Parian does amazing work," Taylor replied a little proudly. It was always nice to see others appreciate the skill that her rogue friend was capable of. "Are you ready to go?" She asked a bit of urgency in her tone.

From outfitting the other girl, prepping her ride, and dealing with Glory Girl, they'd already wasted more time than she feared Chemist could afford if Lung was really in the area facing off against the Empire.

"Wait," Lily spoke, eyes narrowed in confusion, "how are you going to keep up?" She wondered. "Where's your toad?"

"That's right," Taylor realized aloud as she sent a pulse to her partner, "you haven't met Kichi yet have you?"

"Who is Kichi?" Lily asked. "Another toad?"

Taylor felt an eager little grin as she felt the answering pulse from Kichi through their bond, threaded with mischief and urgency.

Well, it wouldn't do to keep her partner waiting. Especially when they had an urgent date with a gang war. It wouldn't do to be late.

Taylor broke off into a slow jog towards the edge of the roof. The mischief Kichi was feeling through their bond increased as he traced her movement.

"You guys can chat on the way there," Taylor said off-handedly. "We don't have any more time to waste. Gama," she called out to her toad, "let's head out."

"Wait! You didn't answer my question! Where are you going?" Lily asked, voice increasing sharply when she noticed that the other girl hadn't slowed down her forward movement.

With a casual wave of acknowledgement to the striker, Taylor, not breaking her stride, jumped off the roof.

"What the fu—?"

The rest of Lily's startled shriek was lost in the rushing wind as Taylor free fell off of the building. Her heart leapt into her throat and she only had the briefest of moments to curse herself for letting Gamakichi talk her into this stunt when she felt herself land on the familiarly solid body of her battle partner. The reassuring feel of his chakra at work making sure that Taylor wouldn't accidentally fall off.

There was a strange rumbling from Kichi as they hopped toward their destination that she recognized as laughter. It was only after the adrenaline started to fade and the rush left her ears that she realized the cause for his glee.

"—on't care if you saved my life. Never do that again you reckless moron! Do you understand me?"

Lily, following beside them on Gama was shouting loudly at the toad summoner.

She supposed an upside to this current berating was that Lily was currently too angry at her to be nervous about cruising through the city on a giant armored toad at speeds that would easily grant a mover rating. Not to mention that the great leaps her toads favored which could be charitably be called nauseating to the uninitiated.

Silver linings. She could do those. And Kichi and Greg said that she was too serious.

Belatedly realizing that the other girl was waiting for an answer, Taylor responded. "Never again," she agreed hastily. "This is Kichi by the way," as she patted the toad that she was riding.

"That's Gamakichi to you kid," the orange toad interrupted cheerfully as they hopped along the rooftops. "I told you it'd be hilarious," the toad mumbled up to his summoner as they raced across the city, careful to keep his words beyond the reach of Lily's ears.

Taylor nods distractedly in agreement, too distracted by worries of what they would find to share her toad's amusement.

Gamakichi easily sensed his summoner's disquiet. "What's wrong sis?"

"Lung," was all she managed to reply. Her thoughts to jumbled up to fully express herself.

"Is he really that bad?" Gamakichi asked with faint surprise.

Taylor couldn't help but snort at the question. At times, it seemed like her summons had adapted so quickly to life on Earth Bet that aside from their shape, they could have been born here. However, questions like Gamakichi's were a pointed reminder that her toads, as capable as they were, were still new to Earth Bet and the Bay.

"Just Lung alone would be bad enough, never mind the Empire and whatever else we're going to be going up against," she responded. "His power grows the longer he fights. Nobody knows just how strong he can get. He fought off the entire Protectorate team all on his own. He fought one on one against Leviathan off the coast of Kyushu!" Taylor had to pause and recollect herself when she noticed that her voice had gone up a few actives. Taking a deep breath to regain her composure, she continued, "Lung fought an endbringer in single combat and it was the island that lost. He managed to do what nobody else in the world has done. He singlehandedly drove back an endbringer." Taylor paused to let her friend fully absorb that fact.

She and her toads had thankfully not yet encountered an endbringer. But she'd shown them pictures so that they could fully grasp the calamities that assaulted her world.

"So it's that bad," Gamakichi surmised. His voice had taken a serious edge during his summoner's explanation. "Is that why you brought along Gama? He's a little big to be giving only one person a ride."

"I'd rather have your father here," Taylor responded with a snort. "But Gama is the physically strongest toad that I'm capable of summoning right now. Hopefully, it will be enough." Taylor couldn't quite keep the worry and doubt from her tone.

"I won't let anything happen to you," Gamakichi promised seriously. "None of us will."

Taylor felt the wind whip through her hair and rush past her ears. She thought about how brave her toads were. How confident they could be and how occasionally that confidence led to recklessness. Especially for Gamakichi.

She almost wished that they were moving fast enough that she hadn't heard her partner's promise.

"That's what I'm afraid of," she whispered to herself, the words lost in the wind as they raced on.

* * *

"Holy shit."

Taylor mentally agreed with the mixture of terror and awe in Lily's voice as the two capes and toads surveyed the scene from a distance.

It was a complete and total war zone. Despite having mentally prepared for the worst, Taylor stared in disbelief at the sight before her.

The docks were in ruins. Most of the warehouses were either on fire or in various states of destruction.

The scene was utter chaos. Capes and gang members moving through the haze of the fire lit docks in a confusing mass that made it almost impossible to discern what was happening

A colossal metal gorilla was locked in a fierce battle with one of the giant twins. The gorilla was well over 20 feet tall and wreathed in smoke. The surrounding fire reflected strangely on its metallic hide, giving the already fearsome creature a nightmarish appearance as it bared its fangs in a ferocious snarl. Great metallic clangs rang out across the ruined battlefield as its massive fist was caught on the giant Nazi's shield. It growled irritably when it was caught by a sword strike in return from Fenja, or maybe Menja.

Taylor scanned the area for the creature's creator but couldn't find her. That would, of course, be too easy she thought to herself sarcastically.

She had to squash a near hysterical giggle from the truthfully not all that funny thought as she fought not to be overwhelmed by everything that was happening.

Her sister, the other twin, was shrunken to a more natural size, was pulling sharply on a makeshift tourniquet wrapped around her leg in a desperate attempt to staunch the flow of blood.

A massive… thing, that could only be loosely described as a vehicle roared through the battlefield causing chaos in its wake. It was huge and looked to have originally been a van, or maybe even a small bus. It was hard to say due to the modifications it carried. Strange and exotic weaponry bristled from nearly every surface as it tore through the docks. It was big, loud, and ugly. Taylor couldn't think of a more fitting vehicle to have come from the Merchant's tinker.

Taylor fought to choke back her alarm when she noticed the massive form of Manpower, slumped and unmoving on the rubble-strewn street, steam still rising from his costume. The Merchants monstrous death mobile had only barely missed the figure of the downed hero. Whether that was on purpose, or, more likely, that the Merchants simply hadn't seen him, Taylor couldn't say. The glare from the surrounding fires messed with her perception and made it impossible to tell how seriously he was injured from the distance.

A brilliant streak of light lanced down from the sky and tore through a huddled group of ABB members, forcibly tearing her attention from the New Wave member. Taylor wasn't able to prevent a shudder when her eyes cleared and she saw the group of broken bodies left in its wake.

An inappropriately impressed whistle from Gamakichi shook her gaze from the downed bodies.

She searched the skies for Purity, easily finding the glowing woman as she committed to a sharp spiral in the air in a successful bid to avoid retaliation from Oni Lee.

The teleporter was having a difficult time of it. Not being able to move as freely through the air as the Empire blaster. However, the cloner's unorthodox method of attack and his teleportation powers combined with his sheer skill meant that Purity, in turn, was having a more difficult time than usual time of putting him down.

Briefly, she wondered where the New Wave fliers were and hoped that they were all in better shape than Manpower was.

Taylor winced even as she prepped the seals for a summoning. The accompanying burst of smoke was just as conspicuous as she'd feared but there wasn't a chance that she'd leave Manpower down and out in the middle of the road while she was still capable of doing something about it. Thankfully it was one of those rare times where luck was on her side and it appeared that everybody was too busy fighting to notice a bit of smoke added to what was already being produced from the warehouse fires.

Taylor had to work hard to keep her breathing even and steady after summoning yet another toad. The large armored Gama and the toad brother's weren't like her scouting toads or the gourd toad whom she had summoned earlier. They were much larger and of a higher caliber for lack of a better word. More substantial. Their size and power meant that Taylor had expended a lot of her limited pool of energy necessary to fuel her summons. Strangely, of all of her toads, Gamakichi cost the least amount of energy to summon. Whether this had anything to do with him being her official 'Battle Partner' according to the toad family, or, if it was due to the fact that she had summoned Gamakichi far more often than any of her other toads, Taylor had no clue.

"Tatsu," she greeted the yellow toad, nodding her thanks to Gamakichi who had taken the initiative to smother his brother's usual enthusiastic greeting.

There was no reason to test their luck and draw attention to themselves any more than they had to.

Gamatatsu gave a grin and a mumbled reply to her greeting from under his brother's hands.

"I need you to be quick and quiet," Taylor ordered. She pointed down to Manpower and continued once she was sure the less reliable of the Gama brothers understood her intent. "I need you to sneak down there when you can and get him to safety. Can you do that for me?"

Gamakichi released his younger brother which allowed the large yellow amphibian to give a considering look to the fighting going on below.

"Yes," Taylor interrupted the other toad before he could speak up. "You'll get your candy once the fighting is over and everyone is safe. Now, can you get it done?"

Gamatatsu gave a wide grin. "You can count on me!" He assured enthusiastically.

"Great," Taylor replied with a smile. "Thank you."

"This is fucking crazy," Lily whispered with wide-eyes as she stared at the mayhem.

The former captive's words pulled Taylor's attention from her toads and back to the situation at hand.

Lily's gaze hadn't twitched from the scene, even during Taylor's summoning of a new toad. The former ABB captive's eyes were locked on Hookwolf and his fellow Empire capes, Storm Tiger and Cricket. The notorious trio was locked in a fierce battle against Battery and Dauntless. The two Protectorate capes were joined in a rather awkward team up by Spray and Pray, who had apparently followed the fighting of their own accord and joined the melee.

Taylor recalled that the violent vigilante pair had pointedly refused to join the alliance, not willing to even temporarily be allied with villains.

"Just a bit," Taylor agreed softly, wincing as another harsh gong rang out from the battling giants that towered above them. She wondered exactly how tough The Painted Lady's gorilla must be to have lasted so long against one of the giant twins. "But," she continued, "I'm more interested where everybody else is. Specifically, my friend, Lung, and your sister."

A monstrous explosion of fire accompanied by a distorted roar a few blocks down interrupted their observations.

"I think you just found them sis," Gamakichi spoke, staring at the fire with an uncharacteristically serious edge.

"Let's move," Taylor said, easing from her crouch and hopping back onto her toad partner.

"Wait," Lily interjected, staring at Taylor. "You want to go towards the explosions? The explosion that was probably caused by the most dangerous cape in the city?"

"Yes," Taylor said simply. "It's likely where your sister is. Also, knowing his luck, probably where my ally is as well."

Lily still looked highly skeptical about the wisdom of heading towards an increasingly powerful Lung. Normally, Taylor would whole-heartedly agree with the other girl, maybe praise her for her healthy amount of logic and common sense. But, unfortunately, they really didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

A little ruefully, Taylor doubted that the Protectorate put situations like this out in their recruitment posters when they were looking to add a few new heroes to their roster.

"Fortune favors the bold," Taylor offered, a weak platitude in the face of the danger they'd no doubt encounter as the pair made to head toward Lung and whoever was in the unenviable position of having to fight him.

"Yeah, and statistics favor the cautious," Lily shot back with a snort, but, nevertheless she settled back down onto the armored toad and nodded to show that she was ready. The mention of her sister seemed to have been enough to coax her into following the toad girl, even if she didn't necessarily look happy about it.

Not that Taylor could blame the other girl of course. She wasn't exactly eager to get a first-hand account of how terrifying Lung's transformation no doubt was either. A blurry and shaky vid on the PHO from a particularly brave or foolish citizen had been intimidating enough on its own.

It was everything that Taylor had feared and at the same time worse than she could have imagined. The reality was uglier than the smooth lines and draconic features that she'd imagined and all the more terrifying for it.

Lung was a monstrous figure at nearly 20 feet in height and only vaguely humanoid. His entire body was covered in intimidating ridges and bone plate, layered with metallic scales that glimmered in the light. The ABB leader's spine had extended, giving him a bestial and inhuman posture. His hands had mutated, fingers lengthening and adding another set of knuckles. Claws the size of knives shot rose from the ends of his fingertips. Lung's arms were more akin to an apes, granting him an arms span as long as he was tall. The better to move and run on all fours she assumed.

Taylor found herself forcibly reminded of one of her mother's favored tales, Beowulf. Specifically, of the hideous and monstrous Grendel. Somehow she didn't see herself or anyone else ripping off the arm of the monster before her the way the hero of old had.

On his back were strange protrusions. Hideous spikes that look more like they'd erupted from his body than any sort of natural growth. Ugly things that didn't make much sense.

A precursor to his next evolution?

His face had deformed into something horrifying. It was easily one of the scariest and most disgusting things that Taylor had ever seen. Lung's face was elongated to something vaguely snout like, almost feline in appearance. Were it not for the fact that his mouth had split into four segments. Taylor almost forgot to be frightened by the sea of razor sharp fangs that glittered in the fires of his own making.

Somehow, though, the most frightening thing of all about Lung's new appearance was that despite his current mutations, the Asian cape's eyes held a cunning and intelligence that did not belong to any animal outside of one of her toads. The glowed like the metal from a forge, pupils slit like a cat or a reptile. His molten gaze did not reflect his savage appearance, rather, they held the cunning and strength of a man necessary to forge a unity from the disparate and rival Asian gangs of Brockton Bay.

He was surrounded by a field of broken and rusted blades. Even as she watched, gaping wounds and tears in his hide healed before her eyes. What were once serious injuries to his torso, thigh, and a particularly nasty gash in his neck, were rapidly fading before her eyes.

Taylor suddenly wished that she hadn't been so insistent that Glory Girl go and take care of making sure that Bushido was contained. Not even Hookwolf had made her feel so outmatched. She felt like she didn't belong within a mile of a cape like Lung when he was like this.

Such was her distraction by Lung's appearance that she completely missed anything else. It took a sharp poke and frantic pointing from Lily to see what she'd missed.

At Lung's feet, lying haphazardly on the ground, was Kaiser. The Empire leader was prone and unmoving, his normally pristine armor was rusted and pitted.

Taylor stared at the sight and had to suppress near hysterical laughter when her first thought at the sight was that she was glad that she had proof Greg had been here.

A dangerously large dent from a monstrous fist was present on the chest of the armor. The dent, which had obviously come from Lung and had taken Kaiser out of the fight was still glowing a cherry red.

Hovering uncertainly nearby was Krieg with a veritable whirlwind of small objects under his control. The Nazi cape was a long standing member of the Empire and was known for his fine control. However, he was not blessed with the strength that Rune possessed, and none of the objects under his control could hope to stymie Lung when he was like this.

Taylor wondered if the brute would even notice if Krieg had sent his telekinetically controlled arsenal at the monstrous man.

The ABB gang leader's body was wreathed in potent flames, the asphalt beneath his feet bubbled and he snarled something that was almost unintelligible at the unconscious Empire leader.

"Ill oooohh!"

Lung raised a hand to do just that, a large orb of fire spawning in his open palm, dagger-like claws gleaming in the firelight.

A loud crack followed by Lung stumbling backward with a snarl interrupted the ABB leader before he could make good on his promise.

"I think not," was the stoic reply.

Taylor found her attention forcefully dragged from Lung to his next opponents. She had been so distracted by Lung's monstrous form that she hadn't looked at anything else.

The reply had come from Armsmaster who was pointing his signature halberd at the ABB leader. His weapon was missing its blade, instead revealing a barrel. The origin of what had stopped Lung from murdering Kaiser. At some hidden prompt from the Bays' premier tinker, an intimidating blade emerged to give his trusty weapon an edge.

"Sorry," another voice chimed in. Less stoic and more cocky. "But taking out bad guys is sorta our thing you know? Why don't you be a good brute and do what bad guys are good at and get beat by the good guys," Assault said with a smirk.

Taylor had to admire the courage it had to have taken to say that if not the intelligence.

The already short, if well-muscled, hero was positively dwarfed by Lung's massive size. However, if their difference in weight class intimidated the Protectorate hero then Taylor couldn't see it.

She didn't think that she would have been nearly so composed if they had swapped places.

Taylor wondered where Miss Militia was. From what little she's seen of her, Taylor couldn't imagine the gun creating cape sitting out such a huge battle.

Her stray thought was answered by a red blur from the corner of her eye and the staccato of gunfire in the distance. It seemed that Miss Militia and most likely Velocity were locked in their own fights then, unable to help their fellow Protectorate members. Probably against The Painted Lady and Bakuda if Taylor had to guess as she still hadn't caught sight of the two female ABB capes.

Taylor frowned.

"Are they crazy," Lily whispered, staring at the Protectorate capes with something close to awe.

Taylor had to mentally agree as Lily inadvertently put words to what she was feeling. Assault and Armsmaster had already fought against Lung before. They'd lost. And when they had fought last time, they had their entire Protectorate team as back up. Taylor couldn't see how just the two of them now could stand against Lung. Especially not since the ABB leader had more than enough time to power up during the earlier fighting.

"The toads are going to have to help them out while we look for your sister," Taylor finally decided, ignoring the look Gamakichi shot at her. Thankfully, Lily spoke up before he could give his opinion on the plan.

Lily frowned but seemed understanding of the situation. "Well," she said, fingering the throwing blade Taylor had given her earlier, "if that's how we're going to play it do you have any more of these?" She asked, holding the knife up for inspection. "I don't think just one will cut it."

Taylor nodded in understanding and pulled out her two braces of knives from her coat. "Here," she said, handing them over. "With your power, they'll probably be better off in your hands anyway."

"For me? You shouldn't have," the striker said as she eagerly reached for the throwing knives. "Oh yeah," Lily said in satisfaction, eyeing the blades appreciatively, "these will do just fine." Counting the one that Taylor had given her earlier, she now had 10 blades with which to imbue her power. "I wonder if Bakuda will like them too?" Lily wondered aloud with alarming curiosity.

"Someone else is joining the party sis," Gamakichi spoke, interrupting their byplay even as Taylor made a mental note to keep a closer eye on Lily.

Taylor noticed that he sounded a little torn between irritated and excited. Knowing him, it was a combination of wanting to fight Lung and not wanting to leave her on her own.

The thought of her toads being eager to face that monster filled her more with dread than confidence. She wasn't sure if Kichi truly understood the scope of Lung's power.

True to the toad's claim, a distinctive voice spoke up in the direction of Lung and the heroes.

Taylor's question of who would be so bold as to interrupt a confrontation between these three was answered immediately.

"Mind if I cut in as well?" Revenant, in his bare-chested glory, massive and exotic scars displayed to all as he casually walked up to the heroes side. The horrific scars made Lung's tattoos seem childish in comparison. He strolled freely and easily through the ruined street. Bare feet slapping over ruined concrete and glass without a care. The vigilante's simple of attire of gray business slacks couldn't have looked more out of place.

In one hand dangled a mostly empty bottle of whiskey while the other was occupied with the large metal lamp post hanging over his shoulder.

It made for a very striking image, if not necessarily dashing or heroic the way that Armsmaster had when he'd stopped Lung from murdering Kaiser. Taylor somehow doubted that Revenant really cared about looking heroic anyway.

It was reassuring in a way, how unaffected he appeared by the chaos that surrounded him. The way the zombie brute casually challenged the most powerful cape in the city. His attitude combined with his fearsome reputation almost made Taylor feel like they had a chance despite Lung's obvious power and grotesque form.

The warped end of the metal post showed where he had ripped it up from the street. Revenant might have been famous for his legendary resilience, but nobody forgot that he had the strength that entitled him to a brute rating as well.

He took a swig from his nearly empty bottle and raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"Well?" He asked a little irritably, something dangerous edging into his tone when he didn't get a reply. "It's rude to just stare."

Beside her, Taylor heard Lily whisper the vigilante capes name with an almost fearful awe.

There wasn't a soul in Brockton Bay that hadn't at least heard of the man.

The Protectorate heroes were understandably on edge. Revenant may have had heroic tendencies when he chose his targets, but he was never known for pulling his punches or playing well with others.

An explosion of fire accompanied by an enraged snarl was his reply.

Lung would no longer stand to be ignored.

"Kill! Ill ill all o ooh!" He snarled through a ruined mouth. Fire exploded outward with every word of his proclamation.

With another snarl he charged the capes, fire surrounding his body, he looked like a comet as he steamed toward the heroes, leaping a clear 15 feet toward them, he continued his sprint on all fours. His movements were more like a gorilla in spite of his almost feline and draconic appearance. Making use of his long arms and claws for purchase, he traveled in small yet powerful leaps more than a more natural run.

Assault crouched, primed to dodge in either direction as Armsmaster planted himself in a firm stance and readied his polearm. Neither had any more time or attention to spare for their concern over Revenant's sudden appearance.

Neither hero had to make a move.

"Shut the fuck up," Revenant drawled as he tossed his nearly empty liquor bottle at the brute.

Lung snarled in irritation when the glass broke against his eyes, the fire surrounding him momentarily flaring as it consumed the remainder of the potent alcohol.

It didn't hurt Lung much. Not really. But the surprise and audacity of the attack made him flinch. It was all that the veteran vigilante needed.

With a grunt, the zombie cape swung the lamp post at Lung with all of his considerable power, hitting the other brute directly in the skull.

Taylor flinched at the meaty hit that sent the dragon man stumbling, diverting his charge from the heroes and making the massive brute stumble.

A part of her knew that she should send her toads in and continue the search for Hisako, but she couldn't stop staring. She was having a difficult time of forcing herself to move however lest Lung's advanced senses pick up on further intruders. Taylor had no desire to test her blade on those scales.

A follow-up strike from Revenant with the now bent lamp post put Lung onto his hands and knees, breaking the metal pole over his back.

Revenant tsked irritably as he examined the jagged end of his now broken weapon.

Assault openly stared between the brute and the now empty handed Revenant. Gaze bouncing between the two for a long moment.

"Yes," he spoke, his delayed answer to the vigilante's earlier question. "Feel free to cut in. In fact," he continued, "feel free to cut anything you like. Especially him," he finished pointing a finger at Lung who had recovered swung a massive arm at the vigilante.

The zombie cape cursed at the sight, but rather than try to dodge the blow, he instead accepted the hit in order to stab his ruined weapon at the other brute, impaling Lung in the shoulder even as he was launched from the powerful hit, slamming into and through the cheap sheet metal that made up one of the many warehouses in the docks.

Snarling triumphantly and ignoring the large piece of metal currently impaling him, Lung sent a wave of flame rushing toward the other capes.

The heroes responded well to the attack.

At some command from Armsmaster, his mask extended, now covering his entire face. The better to protect himself from the fire Taylor presumed. He met the wave of flames without flinching, trusting in his armor's capabilities.

Assault responded by launching into a powerful sideways leap that led him athletically springing off a nearby wall. After that, he was almost a blur. Ping-ponging his way through the area in a dizzying display of impossible acrobatics.

Taylor recalled that he was supposed to be a powerful striker that had something to do with kinetic energy. She honestly didn't know much more than that though.

"Do we have a plan to help them? Any special toad?" Lily asked, staring a little unsurely at the high caliber fight before them. Unconsciously she ran her hands along the blades the toad cape had granted her, searching for comfort in the cool steel.

Taylor thought desperately on the toads that she could summon. Most were fairly similar all told. Weapon users or water and wind specialists. Nothing that would be particularly useful here, and none that she could summon would likely be more effective than the team of Gamakichi and Gamatasu anyway. Especially not with her reserves depleted as they were. A gourd toad? The courier bros?

No, not good enough.

Taylor clenched her hand into a fist as she thought furiously. All of the toads that she imagined would be able to turn the tide for the heroes were beyond her reach at the moment.

Wait.

That might do it, she thought, bringing up her hands as something like optimism flowed through her body, trailing along the paths of her directed energy, filling her body.

This should work.

"Sis, who are yo –,"

Gamakichi's query was smothered by a burst of smoke as a toad slightly smaller than him was summoned to the fore.

"How marvelous to be out and about again," a flamboyant voice announced as Gamariki luxuriated in being summoned again.

The cross-dressing toad, who was decked out in the usual heavy makeup and massive ribbon tied into a bow, gave an appreciated wink to his summoner, "Much appreciated my dear."

"Sis," Kichi spoke up in alarm, "that I –,"

"Nice to see you too Riki," Taylor spoke hurriedly, ignoring her partner and the choke of surprise from Lily. The striker stared at the flamboyant toad at a loss for words.

Gama gave a bolstering croak towards the young cape, carefully patting the Asian cape with his massive armored hand in support.

"We don't have time for talking," Taylor continued, gasping for breath at yet another relatively high-level summoning. Taylor fought for some modicum of control over her breathing as she continued, "I need you to hit Lung with one of your illusions. Give him everything you got," she finished desperately, wincing at the sound of a tremendous crash coming from the direction of the fighting.

 **Gamariki**

Gamariki blinked at his summoner in surprise. He looked towards the feeling of intense heat and stared as a massive monster batted an armored man with a spear away like a toy. "Oh my," the extroverted toad murmured to itself in distress as he found the source of Taylor's concern. That did not look good.

"Hurry," his summoner pleaded when the toad didn't make to cast his jutu, "please," she entreated, "there's no time to waste."

Why did she think that he cou…

With realization came understanding.

Gamariki sent a poisonous glare to the sheepish Gamakichi.

"My dearest summoner," he began, not taking his gaze from his boss' foolish offspring, "I'm afraid I won't be able to cast an illusion on that beast."

A pregnant pause ensued as the humans absorbed his words.

Gama gave a mournful croak at the situation.

"Why not?"

The desperation and betrayal in his summoner's voice dragged Gamariki's glare from the orange toad. Gaze softening as his large purple orbs met his summoner's, the toad spoke. "I'm afraid that my illusions work by manipulating my enemy's chakra. And," he continued, "I'm afraid that nobody on your planet possesses any to manipulate, meaning that my illusions are of no use to you," he finished apologetically. "Somebody was supposed to warn you about this so that you wouldn't summon the wrong toad in a dangerous situation," Gamariki finished, redoubling on his glare when his gaze shifted back to Gamakichi.

"I guess I forgot," Gamakichi said sheepishly. "Oops?" He half asked, half stated.

The only thing that stopped Gamariki for blasting the idiot with water was the large armored hand that cuffed the orange toad on the head, sending the much smaller orange toad stumbling forward in pain from the normally mellow Gama.

Served him right, Gamariki thought viciously. His oversight put their summoner in danger, led to her summoning the wrong toad for the job. He deserved more than just a slap in his opinion.

Gamabunta would be hearing about this!

 **Taylor**

She couldn't believe what was happening. How could Gamakichi have forgotten to tell her something so important?

Taylor did her best to fight off the wave of dizziness that threatened to overwhelm her from the latest in the long list of summons that she'd performed today. She was going to kill Kichi if they made it through this. Her energy store was about as dangerously close to empty as it could be. Taylor had no idea what would happen were she to use all of her energy up, but something told her that she didn't want to find out.

Now she was stuck with a toad who was at half effectiveness. She'd wasted all of that energy for nothing. Gamariki's water wouldn't be able to do much against Lung.

"Umm, guys," a terrified voice interrupted the byplay. "Not trying to interrupt your little thing or whatever," Lily continued. Her features, already pale from the long captivity had whitened to paper. "But I think we have a problem," she said, pointing a finger back towards the area of the fighting.

Taylor followed Lily's direction and immediately her mounting worry at their situation and irritation towards Gamakichi became irrelevant in the suffocating panic that ensued when her gaze met the glowing molten orbs of Lung.

The dragon man had apparently taken notice of their presence amidst the summoning of Gamariki and the ensuing distraction.

She felt paralyzed. Her breath caught in her throat, not willing to let loose her breath or move in anyway as she was pinned in place by the glare of an ultimate predator.

A faint, approaching pulse of warmth penetrated her panic. She grasped onto the situation, desperate to try and break free from her fear and focus. Gamatatsu was approaching fast. Taylor sent a bolt of urgency toward her yellow friend, telling him to get there as quickly as possible.

They were going to need all of the help that they could get.

Well, she thought to herself hysterically as Lung's monstrous form crouched down, bunching his muscles, his gaze not straying from the intruders for an instant, quantity had a quality all of its own she thought philosophically.

Hopefully, it would be enough.

Lung gave a roar that rent the air and penetrated her bones as he jumped, hurtling his massive body flying towards their group with meteoric force.

But she doubted it.

* * *

 **AN -** Alright, so first thing's first. I'm alive. And, importantly, so is the story. It's been a while I know. Sorry about that. A lot of pretty terrible situations sorta all came up at once one after the other. A bunch of little things, a few pretty bad things, and a really shitty thing or two. On its own one or two of these would've been fine, but all together it equals a pretty bad time of things for a while No point in going into details but these situations have resulted in a bit of an emotional, physical, financial, and mental strain for my life.

Thankfully, the worst of all that seems to be over for now, and that was 1/2 of why I hadn't been updating. The other half is that I just completed a rather drastic move from the United States to South Korea. So settling into a very different setting is taking some time. Anyway, the story is not dead, obviously since I'm updating. Huzzahs are in order! :)

Finally, thanks to everyone who retained an interest in this story! And to all the new viewers and reviewrs that showed up inspite of a lack of updates for the past few months. We actually managed to crack 400 which is pretty amazing. Thanks a lot everyone!

Anyway, onto the chapter notes -

Alrighty , so, this chapter was a bit of a struggle and I've been pretty busy. I won't bore you with a long note here at the end after all the other stuff. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and for those of you that stuck through the story in spite of my delays, thank you. Also, I've not been in contact with the guy who betas my chapters, and I really wanted to get something out for you guys, so if there are any mistakes either with grammar, mechanics, characterization, tone, or whatever else, the help / thoughts / speculation is always appreciated and enjoyed.


	32. Escalation 4-12

Escalation 4.12

Gama's armored form met Lung's charge in a titanic crash as their massive forms fought for dominance in a contest of pure strength. The massive pair towered over the abandoned cars and the street lights that lined the road that cut through the docks. Lung was so big that he even dwarfed the two story high warehouses that littered the area.

Taylor felt her hands clench into fists as she stood by, helpless to do anything other than watch as her toad wrestled with the larger cape who had once defeated her city's heroes on his own.

Breath that she didn't realize she was holding exhaled in a relieved whoosh as Gama finally managed to wrestle Lung to the ground with a tricky bit of grappling. The mammoth toad was battering the scaled cape with monstrous blows from his armored arms. Grabbing the momentarily stunned brute, Gama heaved and sent the massive beast of a man hurtling away from his summoner.

Gama's strength was immense. Even for the armored toad's impressive size, he was strong. The toad's red armor was not only incredibly tough but also extremely heavy. Taylor had barely been able to shift a single piece of his armor when she'd tried. The strength needed to move and fight easily in such armor was enough to match Lung.

For now.

But as was the nature of his power, Lung was already shifting from where he'd been thrown. Crushed scales from Gama's powerful blows healing at incredible rates. The spine like growths on his back had grown a bit in length and his chest had gotten even broader. Even now Lung's strength was growing.

"Whoa, who's that?"

Taylor started at the unexpected voice only to immediately relax on recognizing it.

"Tatsu," she said in relief, nodding gratefully to her friend as Kichi greeted his brother with a distracted wave, not taking his gaze from the nearby conflict. "Is Manpower okay?" She asked as her gaze was drawn back to the fight.

Gama and Revenant were doing their best to hem Lung in as Assault bounced around in an attempt to distract the dragon man, landing kinetically charged blows whenever he found an opening. Taylor frowned when she couldn't immediately place Armsmaster on the battlefield.

"A-okay sis!" Gamatatsu confirmed with a grin, shooting a thumbs up in her direction.

"Good job," Taylor replied. She was glad that at least something had gone right. She didn't want to think of how Glory Girl would have reacted if one of her family members didn't make it while she'd sent her off to deal with Bushido.

"We need to make a move," Lily interrupted. "Waiting is only helping Lung, and we still need to find my sister. I could hit him with those knives you gave me," she admitted with a grimace, "but he'd probably just heal it right away. They're too small."

Taylor frowned at the reminder, doing her best to drag her thoughts away from Lung. It wasn't easy when the endbringer sized brute was so close. With all that had happened and Lung's rampage, she had almost forgotten why they'd come in the first place. This wasn't about just Lung. This was about trying to stop the gang war as a whole before the city imploded.

She flinched when Revenant narrowly avoided a decapitating blow due to the intervention of Assault. The Protectorate hero had seen Lung's scything attack coming and had interposed himself between the two brutes. Her eyes widened in appreciation when the hero accepted Lung's blow easily, blocking the massive clawed fist easily without any visible strain. The act was nothing compared to Assault reaching out and giving the monster a simple flick that sent Lung's massive body flying off once more.

"What the hell," Lily breathed out at the spectacle, mirroring Taylor's sentiments exactly.

Armsmaster made his reappearance in grand fashion. Leaping from the shadows he slammed his halberd into the downed Lung's back. She couldn't see how far the weapon penetrated Lung's scales, but the follow-up from the Bay's premier tinker made the question moot. Armsmaster's halberd barked out a sharp crack that pierced the battlefield and Lung was hit with some kind of momentous force, driving the massive brute deeper into the ground.

Rather than follow up in an attempt to press his advantage, Armsmaster's veteran experience as a hero in the dangerous city of Brockton showed when he jumped off the brute immediately after his attack. Grappling lines of some sort shot from his armor, piercing into the road in the distance away from Lung. His armored form jerked in midair as the lines reeled in, pulling the tinker bodily away. He was just in time to avoid an explosion of fire as Lung reminded them all that he had more than just brute strength at his disposal.

Making a mental note to research further into what Assault's power actually was, Taylor did her best to shake off what had just happened and focus.

"Right," she said after a long moment. "He's just going to keep growing and we still have to get to The Painted Lady." Left unsaid was that she was still concerned about Chemist's fate as well. "We hit him hard and try to take him out before he can grow any further," she ultimately decided. Not exactly happy with the plan but not really seeing any other options. "Kichi," she spoke, dispelling the niggling doubts, "Tatsu," she continued, "get ready for the Toad Gun."

Her declaration was met by eager grins from the gama brothers. "Aye sis!" they cheered as they bumped fists and made to ready their attack. Kichi placing his hands on his brother's back as they began building and intermingling their different chakras. Reaching for the harmonization between the two necessary for their combination attack.

Taylor continued directing her forces as they prepared, "Riki, long range support with your water attacks. And make sure that the heroes know what's coming."

"Of course my dear," Gamariki said graciously before the flamboyant toad launched toward Lung and the other capes.

"What do we do?" Lily asked.

"Wait," Taylor replied simply. Seeing the impatience in the other cape, she elaborated. "With luck Kichi and Tatsu's attack will be enough and we can have some backup when we go for your sister. I'm tapped out of energy," Taylor admitted. "I won't be able to pull off another summons, and there are still capes unaccounted for. I don't know about you, but I'd like some backup in case we run into Bakuda or anyone else."

Lily flinched slightly at the bomb tinker's name, something dark and brittle flashing across her features before she shuttered the emotion behind a blank face

"Agreed," Lily said reluctantly.

Taylor sympathized with the other girl's impatience but wasn't able to give it much thought as Kichi signaled that they were ready to unleash their attack.

Taylor sent a pulse to Riki who in turn must have warned the other capes. Armsmaster tangled Lung's limbs in some sort of line causing the huge ABB cape to pause and break the restraints. The impediment wasn't enough to slow Lung down all that much, but it allowed the other capes and Riki to vacate the area.

"Now!"

At Taylor's command. Kichi and Tatsu unleashed their collaborative attack.

The brother's announced their attack in perfect synch, "Wind Release: Toad Gun!"

A torrential blast of water was expelled from Gamatatsu as his brother's wind swirled around it in a shell, ensuring that the water kept its shape and gained strength rather than lost. The combined attacks rushing towards the newly freed Lung like a drill, crashing into him like the fist of god.

The explosion from the attack was immense, the shock wave causing the non-brutes to stumble backward.

"Holy shit," Lily mumbled once she'd recovered her footing. The other human present was staring wide-eyed at the massive amount of smoke obscuring the impact site. "I will never look at toads the same way again," she muttered to herself, eyes not straying from where the powerful blast had struck.

"That's because toads are awesome," Kichi responded smugly, having heard as well. He was looking at the damage their attack had caused with a manic grin. The toad was always glad for the opportunity to blow things up and cause some mayhem.

Taylor ignored them, frowning at the impact site. The Toad Gun was an immensely powerful attack. It had even taken on of the Giant twins out of the fight after she'd been fully grown. There was no questioning its strength. And yet, as she tried to peer through the obscuring smoke and dust, dread coiled in her gut. This was Lung after all.

"Tatsu, stay with Lily. Kichi with me," Taylor ordered as she broke into a brisk jog towards where Armsmaster was standing with Assault and Revenant.

"Jiraiya," the tinker greeted, not turning from the impact site even as his unmanned motorcycle rumbled towards him, coming to a rest at his side. The sleek tinker bike hissed as a compartment opened and extended from the bike, displaying a row of the tinker's signature weapons holstered within. Still not releasing his gaze from where Lung had been hit, he grabbed a new halberd from his motorcycle.

"Did we get him?" She asked, in lieu of a proper greeting.

"The energy your toads use to manipulate their blaster abilities are interfering with my scans," the tinker said with ill-hidden irritation.

"And what a blaster ability it was," Assault interjected with an impressed whistle. "You got some heavy hitters huh?"

Taylor's attention was re-directed to the other Protectorate hero. The crimson-costumed hero somehow managed to show an air of nonchalance even in the midst of a fight with Lung of all people. He didn't even have the courtesy to look out of breath Taylor noted with a twinge of envy infused irritation. She had nearly been paralyzed by the sight of Lung alone where Assault had actually fought the monster.

She had to be better.

"Never send a man to do a toad's job," Kichi replied boastfully while doing an admirable job of masking how draining the technique was.

Revenant she noticed, said nothing. Glaring into where Lung had been hit by the Toad Gun attack. The widening of his eyes was all the warning that Taylor received.

Then the world went up in flames.

Taylor lay on the ground, staring up at the sky in a daze. She blinks, reeling, trying to make sense of the world. A somewhat coherent part of herself made a mental note to give Parian a big hug and a lot of thanks for the new, tougher version of her costume. She hadn't been planning on testing out Chemist's fire proofing mere hours after getting it.

That lone lucid part of Taylor gave some thought to the doll girl's reaction to her getting blown up again.

On second thought, maybe she wouldn't mention her costumes success to Parian after all.

She blinked again as she finally realized what she was staring at in the sky. Maybe she'd been hit harder than she'd thought.

"You okay sis?" Gamakichi asked urgently, interrupting her extraneous thoughts.

"Sis," Gamatatsu wailed dramatically as he rushed toward the pair with Lily in tow.

Taylor licked her chapped lips as the new aches started to settle in her body.

"Am I seeing things," Taylor asked blankly as she did her best to claw her way back to coherence.

Gamakichi looked momentarily thrown by her question before following her stare into the sky, "don't see that every day," he mumbled to himself.

"Kichi?" Taylor asked again.

Snapping out of it, the orange toad hurried to answer his summoner. "Not unless we're both hallucinating those New Wave guys fighting the Nazi chick with anger problems and a guy with flying zombie warriors." Gamakichi continued staring at the green specters as the battled the New Wave flyers while Taylor absorbed the strange sentence. "By the way," Gamakichi continued, giving his brother a smack to snap the hysterical toad out of his wailing, "the words 'Impure World Reincarnation' wouldn't happen to mean anything to you would they?" he asked in a terrible faux casual voice.

Taylor let out a grunt as she struggled back to her feet. She shot a grateful look to Lily for helping her up.

"A metal song or something?" Taylor hazarded in answer to Kichi's question as she gave her head a shake in an effort to rid herself of the ringing. She flinched in pain immediately at the mistake.

"Thought not," Kichi mumbled to himself. "Still," he continued, shooting another look up to the floating spirits, "had to ask."

"Guys!" Lily interrupted frantically before Taylor could ask him what he'd been talking about, "I don't mean to interrupt, but Lung is back!"

Her statement was met with a loud roar from the man in question.

Taylor's mouth went dry when she saw him. Lung had grown again, looking to be a bit over 25 feet, he stood in the middle of the massive crater left over from the gama brother's attack. More distracting than the massive dents in his scale hide that were still healing in a worrying display of potent regeneration, or the corona of flames around his giant body, was the pair of massive wings that now erupted from his back where the spike growths had been.

"He can fly too?" She asked incredulously.

"What, you thought they called him the Dragon of Kyushu because he sprouted a few scales?" Lily shot back caustically. The near hysteria in her voice stole any potential venom from her words.

Lung wasn't content to give them a chance to continue their discussion. He leaped, erupting from the ground at speeds unacceptable for someone of his size. Lung furiously flapped his newly grown wings to turn his jump into a soaring glide as he raced toward the heroes. A massive clawed hand wreathed in flames reached out with almost casual negligence as he went for a swipe at Assault who was too busy helping up Armsmaster to notice.

"No!" Taylor shouted, helpless to do anything but watch.

The unaware hero was shoved roughly out of the way by Revenant.

Lung snarled in triumph as one of his massive dagger-like claws hooked into the zombie capes guy, lifting him bodily from the air. Revenant roared in pain as the ABB leader clenched his fist around the undead brute.

Nausea threatened to overwhelm Taylor at the horrific sight.

Revenant grunted in agony. The sound was weak, blood spraying from his mouth into Lung's monstrous face. The infamous vigilante gripped one of Lung's massive claws in a steel grip, heedless of the way it cut into his hands. With another roar, he pulled as hard as he could, despite how it agitated the claw in his gut.

It was Lung's turn to feel pain as Revenant ripped the claw free from Lung's hand and with the last of his strength plunged the dagger-like talon into Lung's forearm. The massive armored hand spasmed, releasing the vigilante. Snarling in irritation, Lung stomped on the downed cape with bone shattering force.

Lung's attention was forcibly removed from Revenant as Gama re-engaged the dragon man, struggling to deal with Lung's increased strength. Taylor was only peripherally aware of the struggle between the two massive creatures. She couldn't tear her eyes from the ruined body of Revenant.

The zombie cape's body was still on the ruined street. The infamous vigilante was brutalized. A gaping wound from where he was gutted by Lung's claw opened his stomach, expelling entrails in a disgusting mess. His upper body and skull were largely crushed by the stomp of Lung's massive foot.

She knew of Revenant's reputation but it was hard to imagine the vigilante shaking off those injuries and death itself, to be seen again, alive and well with a new scar to add to his collection. She might have just borne witness to the end of one of the most infamous capes in the Bay.

"I'm going to be sick." The thought was distant, insulated by shock, and Taylor hadn't realized that she'd spoken aloud until Lily made noises of agreement.

She watched on numbly as Lung almost managed to overpower Gama before buckling under a blow from Assault who had taken advantage of the ABB cape's distraction.

"We can't do anything here," Taylor said aloud. The realization came with a strange mix of bitterness and relief as the knowledge made her next move clear.

"What's the play sis?"

"Lily and I go for the Lady," Taylor replied, doing her best to shake off the horrific site of Revenant. "Kichi, you and Tatsu assist Gama and the heroes where you can. Follow Armsmaster's lead. No buts," she said sharply when the toad made to argue the point. "You guys are needed here more than you are guarding us. Lily and I can watch out for ourselves."

"And Armsmaster?" The annoyed toad challenged, making no effort to hide his irritation, "he ain't our summoner."

"But I am," Taylor responded evenly, doing her best not to let her partner's irritation affect her. Knowing that it mostly spawned from his worry over her helped soften the blow even if it still stung a bit. "And Armsmaster has experience fighting Lung and knows more about his capabilities than anyone here," she continued hurriedly. "Go," she urged, "please."

Gamakichi gave his summoner a heavy look before grunting in agreement. "Be safe." With a nod to his brother, the pair hopped off to join the battle.

"And me?" Gamariki asked apologetically.

Taylor grimaced. Having a toad out whose combat effectiveness was severely hampered was not ideal. "Long range support," she replied. "Stick to the edges and use your water. Try to help with the fire where you can and make sure Kichi and Tatsu don't do anything stupid."

Gamariki raised a skeptical brow at the last request, "you certainly don't ask for anything small do you, my dear?" Ruby lips quirked into a smile at his summoner's apologetic look. "I will do my best," he promised. "Do try and stay in one piece my dear. And show your enemies what it means to fight a toad." With those final words of encouragement, the flamboyant toad hopped off to join his brethren and the heroes against Lung.

Taylor a silent prayer to whoever or whatever would listen to keep her toads safe. She took a deep breath and turned to the silent Lily, "You ready?"

The striker gave a solemn nod. "Let's find my sister and end this."

Taylor bobbed her head in agreement. Turning, she motioned to Lily and pair went off, deeper into ABB territory in search of The Painted Lady.


	33. Escalation 4-13

Escalation 4.13

 **Gamakichi**

Gamakichi was distracted from worrying about his summoner by the incoming ball of fire that would have done any Uchiha proud. He only narrowly avoided that painful fate due to a timely barrage of water bullets courtesy of Gamariki.

"Get your head in the fight Tatsu-chan," the vibrant toad chided. "Trust in our lady summoner to take care of herself. After all," he continued with a wink toward the younger toad, "she was trained by some of the best our clan has to offer."

Gamakichi winced at the admonition even as he appreciated the encouragement. Getting distracted in a fight like a tadpole. He shuddered to think what his father would have said if he could see him now.

"Right," he said to Gamariki as he fished out a cigarette, giving it a quick light with some fire natured chakra as he drew his trusty blade. "I'm in this," he promised. He took a fortifying drag from his cigarette and nodded seriously to Gamariki.

Gamariki gifted the other toad with a fierce grin, "Good. Then let's show these humans how the toads get things done."

Gamakichi chuckled to himself as the other toad hopped away to assist the others. He shot a last look toward where Taylor had left.

'You better stay safe kid.'

A massive leap put him in the path to block Lung's savage swing of his claws, intercepting what could have been a nasty blow to the armored hero his summoner told him to work with.

"My mother still raves about that snakeskin purse my pops got her a few years ago," he said conversationally even as Lung seethed at yet another nuisance. Gamakichi shot a grin toward the massive cape, laden with bloodlust and killing intent, "I wonder what she'd think of one made from a dragon?"

Kichi inhaled sharply, reducing his cigarette to ashes in a single, massive pull. A little bit of wind to give it some oomph and a bit of fire natured chakra to give it a little spice, and he exhaled a steaming pile of ash in the dragon man's face.

Lung roared in pained rage as he stumbled backward, clawing desperately at his eyes in order to restore his vision.

Never one to pass on an opening, Tatsu and Gamariki nailed the brute with blasts of high pressured wind and water, causing the behemoth to stumble backward and scales to crack.

"Oops," Assault said insincerely with a mad grin as he stuck his foot out, somehow avoiding being knocked aside by the brute's massive size and causing Lung to crash to the ground, landing awkwardly on one of his wings.

Gama, not to be outdone, used his considerable strength to propel himself upward in a mighty jump. He landed all of his considerable bulk, armored legs first on Lung's chest causing the cape to give a choking scream that sounded wrong coming from his bestial form.

"8.5 out of 10," Assault opined aloud, aiming a winning smile toward the huge amphibian.

Gama gave a quizzical croak from his place on top of the monster.

"The form was excellent," the hero assured the huge toad, "but you stumbled a bit on the landing," he explained apologetically.

"You are here to assist?" A serious voice inquired at his side.

Gamakichi's attention was drawn from the strange exchange to the armored cape that he'd intervened on behalf of.

"Yep," he affirmed as he eyed the hero critically. Admittedly the armor looked very impressive. How the human felt about reinforcements in the form of the toad clan Gamakichi couldn't say. The human had a good poker face. "Boss lady said to follow your lead. According to her, you're the expert around here."

The armored tinker didn't react noticeably to the implied compliment aside from a slight firming of his posture and a nod as he started including the various abilities the toads brought forth into his plans.

"What's the play?" Kichi asked, frowning when Gama was forced to abandon his perch when Lung finally responded with an explosion of heat and fire. He clenched his hand on the hilt of his blade reflexively when he saw the burns on his fellow toad but forced himself to remain still as he awaited Armsmaster's response.

Gamariki and Tatsu had wasted no time, and were already sending forth a fresh salvo of water blasts in an effort to combat the fire.

"I have something that might work on Lung," Armsmaster finally admitted.

"Might?"

"It wasn't tested to be fully effective when he's already this far gone," the tinker admitted reluctantly. "But," he continued firmly, "it should prove effective at combating his regeneration. Continuing to fight him and allowing him to continuously grow stronger is not an option. We need to take him out."

"Understood," the toad replied. "What's the holdup?"

"It's an injection," the hero replied, analytic gaze on Lung as the enraged cape sent snapped at Assault, his long neck shooting forth like a serpent. The other hero only narrowly escaped the would-be fatal bite but was unable to fully dodge the blast of fire that shot forth from his open maw. "I have to be able to penetrate his armor."

The toad perked up at that. "You just need to crack the shell?" He gave a cocky smirk to the veteran tinker. "I can do that," he assured.

"Your wind and water blasts are powerful," the tinker acknowledged doubtfully, "but they've only been cracking the scales now. Lung's muscles also become incredibly dense the further he goes into his power." The tinker cocked his head thoughtfully. Armsmaster continued, mind already thinking of solutions. The tinker spoke, managing to keep his delivery smooth and even, untouched by panic or the threat of Lung and the worry for his fellow hero as he spoke, "Unless you can do that combination attack again?"

Gamakichi snorted derisively. As if a warrior of the toad clan would be out of tricks so soon. Well, he rationalized to himself as he brought his tanto in front of him and eyed the edge, the tinker was only human, he'd learn quick enough.

"I was thinking of something a bit more subtle," he offered to the human as he took a deep inhale, infusing the air in his lungs with wind chakra, he exhaled the elemental chakra infused breath slowly over his prized blade.

Armsmaster stiffened at the sight, instincts honed from long years as a cape warring with common sense that the new use of a cape ability so near him came from a temporary ally.

Gamakichi looked at the blue glow along the length of his blade and the barest hint of a breeze emanating from it in satisfaction.

"This will do just fine," he said to himself pleased.

"An extension of your ability with air," the tinker murmured to himself. "Laced with the same energy in your blaster abilities that interfere with my scans. Possibly energy fro –," the tinker forcibly cut himself off to focus on the more immediate matters. "Will that prove effective?"

Gamakichi snorted. Of course it'd be effective. Wasn't much wind chakra couldn't cut when it came down to it. "I'll make your dragon bleed," he confirmed. "You get whatever you need ready."

He didn't give the cape time to respond as he launched into a powerful jump back toward the fight. He cursed as he was just in time to witness Lung hurling Gama's massive bulk through the air, sending the toad crashing awkwardly in a heap. The sheet of intense fire he sent after him would have severely burned the downed toad had not Gamariki and Tatsu appeared between him and retaliated with their water jutsu.

Officially in a bad mood, Gamakichi bolted toward the cape.

"Hey," he shouted, "gecko bitch, over here!" A mocking grin slashed across his face as Lung launched toward him with a powerful blow meant to shear him in half. Kichi easily dodged the attack, made sloppy from Lung's outrage.

If there was one thing he'd learned from his big bro, it was that angry enemies made sloppy idiots. Naruto had a near prodigious ability to anger people in his youth. It was something that Gamakichi was proud to say that he'd inherited from his old summoner.

'And,' he thought as he skimmed under the dragon man's swipe and retaliated with a swipe of his own, wind enhanced blade easily parting the scales and skin of the brute's thigh causing Lung to stumble, 'it was so damn satisfying.'

Hopping easily over the reflexive backhand from the brute, he scored a deep cut with an awkward swipe too Lung's massive arm. Bone with visible cuts was exposed from the deep cut.

Gamakichi wasn't given any time to celebrate as Lung retaliated with a furious explosion of fire.

Kichi hissed in pain when he couldn't fully escape the inferno, suffering a moderate burn on his sword arm. He eyed the singed skin critically and cursed when his eyes confirmed what the pain radiating from his arm had told him. Asshole had managed to get his hand. Gingerly, Gamakichi switched the tanto to his undamaged hand and glared at Lung. He then cursed again when he saw the wounds on Lung closing before his eyes with a hiss, steam rising from the progressively smaller wounds.

He suddenly had a new appreciation for how their enemies had felt whenever big bro had broken out the 9-tail's chakra cloak.

"Healing bullshit," he groused aloud, unable to fully contain his ire.

A tremendous roar that shook the skies interrupted further grumbling. The fact that the demented sound didn't come from Lung put the warrior toad immediately on guard. It was like almost nothing that he'd ever heard before. In fact, the only time he'd heard such a sound was earlier this day.

A strange, shrieking car horn confirmed his inkling. The strange metal beast he'd seen the Merchants driving earlier roared into view. The loud and almost gleefully hideous machine sped toward the heroes. Assault was forced to bounce out of the way with a startled curse, finding his way near relative safety at Gamakichi's side, as the drug-pushing capes rushed forward, heedless of who or what was in their way. A grinding noise followed by a blaring alarm announced a turret as it extended from the top of the vehicle. A manic Skidmark popped out from the weapon, visible as he took aim.

His rotted teeth were barred in a wide, psychotic grin. "Take this you shit licking scrotum sniffer," he howled as he let loose with the weapon. Somehow the horrific thing that played at a vehicle got even louder as the weapon revved up with a piercing whine before firing rounds at Lung with machine gun speed. "Suck my taint you dragon humping cunt stick. We're the fucking Merchants bitch!" the gang leader shrieked, cackling madly as the vehicle clipped the shot up dragon, knocking the bullet-ridden beast to the ground. "Who's owns the fucking docks now cum stain?" Skidmark jeered gleefully as their vehicle bolted onward, disappearing just as fast as they'd come, Skidmark's mad laughter echoing in the distance.

Gamakichi stared, knowing that he should be taking advantage of the chaotic distraction but unable to fully process what had just happened. What did Taylor call that? A drive by?

"I think someone has been dipping into his own product," Assault opined aloud. "Artificial courage maybe?"

Gamakichi shrugged in response.

How was he supposed to know?

Humans were strange at the best of times, and the ones inhabiting his summoner's world seemed no different in that respect. The toad was slightly mollified to note that the hero seemed equally nonplussed at the sudden and unexpected bout of extreme violence.

A sphere of fire erupting around Lung's downed body meant they had to put the Merchants out of mind and refocus on the real threat.

"Oh shit," Assault muttered, wide eyes staring at Lung's new form which had emerged from the cocoon of flames. The kinetic striker, who had thus far managed to appear generally unaffected by everything he'd encountered so far sounded distinctly worried as he stared at Lung's new appearance.

Gamakichi followed his gaze and had to agree with the cape's sentiment.

Lung had shot up another 5 feet, rounding off at just slightly above 30 if he were any judge. Another set of spine like growths had started to grow from his back, the precursor to another set of wings if his evolution was following his previous path. Wicked spikes had grown from his tail and arms, giving the already formidable natural weapons even more of an edge. His monstrous mouth was still split into four sections but was now filled with even more and larger fangs, to the point where Lung would struggle to close it.

Despite himself, Gamakichi found himself clenching his tanto in his good hand. He could see why Taylor had wanted his pops for this. Kichi wouldn't have minded having his father here right about now himself.

"Freaking Merchants," Assault hissed, speaking mostly to himself. "Even when they miraculously try and help they manage to make things worse." The Protectorate cape's voice carried an almost disgusted awe. "I don't suppose Armsmaster had a plan?" The striker asked a bit desperately.

"Of a sort," Gamakichi affirmed, not taking his eyes off of the demon before him. Had this been a different place or time, Gamakichi would not have blinked twice if someone had told him that the cape before him was a jinchuuriki.

Assault groaned a little at the non-answer. "That sounds promising," he said sarcastically. Tensing when Lung had finished inspecting his new form and let out a roar. "I wouldn't be surprised if he'd never gone this far since Kyushu," he said aloud, worry pinching his tone. "Look," he spoke, directing his serious gaze to his nearest ally. "We can't afford to mess around, this needs to be contained." He grimaced, "I wouldn't be surprised to hear an endbringer alarm if this goes on much longer. The only upside is that this is happening here," he said gesturing around the docks.

Gamakichi nodded in understanding. There wasn't really any housing in the area, and at this time of night and after all of the fighting, the only people around were gang affiliated. "Your Armsmaster has some sort of sedative that should help," he informed the other cape, speaking quickly as he watched his fellow toads and Armsmaster do their best to contain the monster. "I need an opening, but I can get past his armor so he can inject it."

"Right," Assault said, taking a deep fortifying breath. "An opening. I can do that." He paused, shaking his head and giving himself a few slaps. "Yeah. I can do that," he said again. "Make it count," he demanded from the toad.

Sparing no more time for words, Assault bounded off toward Lung. Bouncing off cars and walls as he made his way to help the others.

Gamakichi gave the red-suited hero a moment before following after him.

* * *

 **Assault**

Hearing their approach, Lung whirled around and hurled a fireball in their direction even as his tail whipped toward the goofy yellow toad with the wind blasts. A timely interruption from the big toad-guy saved his smaller amphibian brother even as it sent his massive armored form flying.

Assault easily jumped over the crackling ball of flame. He landed on the other side, kicking out both of his legs into the cement. A madcap grin broke out when he saw the disproportionately large impact he'd made, a crater forming at his landing site as he pelted Lung with a storm of debris.

He glanced back to make sure that the toad had made it through safely only for his eyes to widen in surprise.

"Damn," Assault said appreciatively to himself as he watched the toad at work.

Gamakichi had opted not to follow his route of jumping to avoid Lung's massive ball of flame. Rather, the orange toad charged straight through, his blade seeming to almost glow blue as he slashed, cutting the fireball in half. Seeing Lung struggle with his vision, the toad made to press the advantage Assault had promised him.

Lung's enhanced senses heard the toad's approach and he whipped a slash of fire in his direction followed by a powerful swing of his spiked tail.

"Toad Sword Beheading," the jacket wearing toad shouted before he launched forward, taking advantage of a toad's naturally strong hips and legs in a powerful jump.

Assault didn't blink, but even so, he almost missed it as the toad blurred forward at intense speeds. Blade flashing as he cut through the fire and tail alike to land a massive slash to Lung's side, blade parting the scales and muscle easily, leaving a huge weeping gash on the 30-foot tall beast that used to be a man.

Stupid name for an attack in his own modest opinion, but the result was pretty fucking metal.

The gargantuan beast roared in pain and practically exploded in flames.

Assault cursed and hurriedly slapped his hand on the nearby wall, manipulating the energy to send him gliding sideways along the building and away from Lung. He did his best to shove away the pain from the scorching heat as he worked to catch his breath at the other end of the building. Despite the burn he could feel on his face he found the time to mentally think the lab geeks for his costume. The thought of how this might have ended were he in his old costume from his Madcap days sent a shiver down his spine.

Further thoughts were driven forcefully to the back of his mind as Lung came roaring towards him once more. Shoving away pain and exhaustion, he made to jump out of the way only to stop when the armored toad jumped in front of him.

Assault appreciated the thought. But it was a bit unnerving to see the armored clad toad who easily dwarfed him in size look so small in the face of Lung.

Thankfully for the odd pair, a streak of white bolted through the sky and blasted into Lung like a ballistic missile, hammering the beast into the ground and cracking concrete.

Assault had to blink to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

There, with a fist planted on Lung's spine in the classic 3-point hero landing pose was Glory Girl.

Armsmaster, ever the professional, hadn't let himself be affected by Glory Girl's sudden entrance like he had and made use of the opportunity by rushing forward and jabbing his halberd into the deep cut made by Gamakichi. A slight hiss came out from the tinker-tech weapon as his modified sedative was injected into the brute.

"Will that be strong enough to knock him out?" He asked as Glory Girl seemingly realized just who she'd attacked and hurriedly floated off of Lung.

Armsmaster shook his head in the negative, "No," he said, "but it should combat his regeneration and give us a chance to put him down."

As if to prove his point Lung surged to his feet in a burst of motion, swatting Glory Girl away with a swipe of his massive arm. The ABB leader followed with a clumsy swipe at Armsmaster who was forced to block with his halberd. Armor or no, his strength was no match for Lung's and the tinker was sent skidding along the ground, his metal armor sparking along the concrete as he skipped over the cement, landing in a heap. Lung swayed drunkenly momentarily before shaking it off with a growl before staring at his side.

Assault grimaced. He'd hoped that the sedative would have been more effective than that. Following Lung's gaze, he was relieved to note that the wounds from Gamakichi's earlier attack were still present. His regeneration was slowed. The sedative had some effect at least.

Lung seemed to realize what had happened as well given the roar of rage and the immense wave of fire he sent towards his foes.

Glory Girl burst through the flames easily to land a double fisted blow into Lung's chest sending the massive monster back a few steps before flying off to avoid retaliation.

Assault wasn't nearly as invulnerable as Alexandria Jr however. Thankfully, he wasn't alone. Gama grabbed the other hero and with a mighty series of leaps, the strange pair avoided serious injury.

"Thanks, big guy," he said gratefully once he was back on solid ground.

The armored toad gave a cheerful croak and a thumbs up in response.

Assault shook his head with a tired grin. Man that was surreal. Powers could get odd sometimes he knew, he'd been around the game long enough to have seen some pretty strange ones, but Jiraiya might have gotten one of the oddest power sets he'd ever come across.

A grimace erased the smile from his face at the sight of Lung fighting off Armsmaster, Glory Girl, and the toads. They'd gotten some good hits against Lung but it was something close to a miracle that nobody had been seriously or fatally injured yet. Well, aside from Revenant he acknowledged. But if even half of the stories about that guy was true then he'd be up and kicking again in no time.

The thoughts flashed by in a second and he still had no answers. Lung wasn't somebody you could just fight. Not really. You needed a plan, a lot of power, and even then, a whole lot of luck. He spared a moment to wish that Battery was here. Puppy would have given him a good amount of energy to work some magic.

The thought struck a chord within the kinetic manipulator. Turning to his temporary companion, he spoke up, stopping the toad before it could rejoin the battle.

"Hey, big guy."

Gama looked down at the much shorter human, managing to convey curiously and urgency through his short croak.

Assault felt a grin stretch across his face, a familiar surge of excitement that reminded him of the old days coursing through his veins.

"You look pretty strong," he told the armored toad. Assault spread his arms open in invitation, "Hit me with everything you got."

Gama stared at the shorter hero befuddled.

* * *

 **Gamakichi**

Gamakichi breathed in slowly and deeply in an effort to control his breathing, taking advantage of the temporary reprieve granted by a furious barrage of elemental jutsu sent Lung's way by Tatsu and Gamariki.

Kichi found himself distracted by the strangeness of seeing Gama hammering powerful blow after blow on Assault's back. If the red-suited hero minded the crushing blows from the 15-foot tall toad, he made no sign of it. A voice at his side tore his gaze from the incredibly odd sight.

"Don't tell me your tired already," Glory Girl mocked, "I thought you were supposed to be tough? Jiraiya's favorite?"

Kichi immediately straightened his posture and ignored the burns on his body. "Tired?" He asked incredulously, layering the word with affronted disdain. "I don't know what you're talking about," he denied. "What about you?" He asked in rebuttal. "You haven't broken a nail or anything have you? Messed up your hair? I'd hate for you to ruin your appearance after you spent so long perfecting it," he continued with a mocking grin. "I assume that's why you were late to the fight anyways," he jeered.

He was satisfied when the teasing smirk from the human's face was replaced with indignation.

"Hey! The only reason I was late is because I had to special deliver Bushido to the PRT," she defended.

Armsmaster interrupted before he could respond, his formerly pristine armor looking at less than 100% after suffering from a few blows at the hands of Lung.

"Glory Girl, you're needed to reinforce New Wave," he spoke, blunt and without any formality.

"What?" Glory Girl asked, sounding like she couldn't believe what she'd heard. "You want the strongest person here to leave the fight against freaking Lung?"

"I'm gonna have to side with the kid on this one," Gamakichi chimed in, ignoring the glare from said 'kid'. "We could really use her here against the Smaug wannabe."

"How do you even know who that is?" Glory Girl demanded.

Armsmaster shook his head in the negative, overriding Glory Girl's question to address the toad. "Purity was seen heading this way," he refuted. "You need to help New Wave take Rune and Crusader out of the fight before she gets here so that your team can focus on her. We can't afford to deal with attacks from above while subduing Lung."

A sudden absence of chakra caused Kichi to curs e, ignoring the humans and their conversation, he turned towards Lung. His relief at the realization his brother had likely just dispelled due to low chakra was dispelled by the horrible shout from Gamariki.

Lung had gotten tired of being attacked at range by the toads and had finally managed to get his hands on Gamariki. The pyrokinetic's roar of triumph was swallowed by Gamariki's pained scream when the massive hand holding him became alight with fire. The extravagant toad's beloved bow went up in flames as he burned.

Gamariki fought through the pain enough to fire a half-formed water bullet jutsu at his attacker. The water splashed harmlessly against Lung's scaled hide, immediately turning to steam as the attack clashed against his super-heated hide.

A snarl erupted from Kichi as he made a chakra assisted leap toward Lung before violently swinging his wind enhanced blade at Lung. He felt the wind chakra along his blade and let is release along with his swing, sending a nearly invisible blade of wind at Lung. The distortion parted the scales and cut into the flesh of Lung's wrist, forcing him to drop the severely injured Gamariki.

"Dispel already!" Kichi yelled in panic when the other toad lay where he'd been dropped, insensate. "Gamariki!"

An unmanned tinker-tech motorcycle sped past Kichi in a silver-blue blur with incredible speed, crashing into Lung's trunk like leg and forcing the bestial ABB leader to stumble. Lung let loose a hideous sound as he steadied himself, the distraction stopping him from finishing off the downed toad he had brutalized.

Dull eyes blinked open and stared dazedly in his direction.

"Go back home," Kichi urged, somehow managing to squeeze the words past the tightness in his throat.

Gamariki's pain glazed eyes closed once more and for a moment Kichi feared that the older toad hadn't understood. A moment later Gamariki disappeared in a burst of smoke, back to the safety of Mount Myoboku and Kichi let out a sigh of pure relief.

Idiot, Kichi lamented to himself. Gamariki should have gone home as soon as he was caught.

Trying to keep fighting in that monster's grip?

Clenching his tanto in his off-hand, his other arm heavy with burns hanging mostly useless at his side, Gamkichi stared at the empty space where Gamariki had lain blankly.

Gamakichi felt an exhausted sigh rattle through his body as he manipulated his chakra to reapply the cutting wind to his blade.

He hoped that Taylor was having an easier time of things than they were.

* * *

 **AN -** Okay man, so that all happened. Looking forward to seeing what you guy's thought about it all Please let me know :) Then next up, we should rejoin Taylor and Lily and conclude this arc. Should be fun.


	34. Escalation 4-14

4.14

Taylor jumped away from the blow sent her way, avoiding it with the shuffling toad-like hop her combat style that Kichi had taught her seemed to favor. Taylor ducked under the next attempt to injure her in the form of a powerful haymaker that came whistling at her from her side.

Rather than slamming into her temple and knocking her unconscious as the man no doubt intended, it instead barely clipped her cheek. Executing a half pivot so that the man was directly behind her, she grabbed the overextended arm and pulled, yanking the hapless thug over her shoulder to slam onto the ground, knocking the breath from him. A follow-up stomp to the stunned man's chest ensured he wouldn't be quick to bother her again.

The summoner huffed, fighting to regain her breath and shake off the tiredness that came from being nearly empty of her internal energy from all the summoning she'd been doing tonight. It was hard to describe, not really a physical tiredness, but not solely mental either. Either way, it was a problem. She felt a little slow, her reactions not quite what they should have been.

She really hoped that Gamakichi was having an easier time of things than she was at the moment. Though, considering he was currently duking it out with Lung, it probably wasn't likely.

They'd stumbled on a running firefight between the Empire and ABB on their way in search of The Painted Lady. Taylor couldn't exactly ignore it even if she'd wanted too. Not that they'd really had a choice once the gangsters saw the two capes.

Lily seemed to be doing alright at least, Taylor thought, watching the other girl deal with her last assailant. Taylor watched on as the other girl sprinted towards the last standing gangster, her feet practically skating across the ground as though they were frictionless. She ducked smoothly out of the way of a panicked punch from the ABB thug and slipped a leg behind her opponents, sending him to the ground with a hard shove.

A negligent flick of her wrist sent a few of her borrowed throwing daggers at the man, her power allowing the knives to easily pierce the clothes and concrete, pinning the hapless ABB thug in place.

That had startled Taylor at first, so much so that she'd almost been clipped by a bat from a particularly enthusiastic ABB member. It had taken her a moment to realize that the skinhead pinned to the car almost three meters away hadn't been stabbed. Rather, Lily had somehow managed to ensure she'd only hit the man's clothing, leaving the thug to alternatively curse at the capes and thank god for his luck.

Lily had mentioned that aiming and calculations for things like angles and velocity came naturally to her, but it was still impressive to see her abilities in action. Taylor could admit that Lily's aim and ability with the knives were far superior to her own.

"You alright?"

"Fine," Lily answered distractedly, looking down at the last man she'd disabled, "you?"

"I'm okay as well," Taylor replied, walking over to the other girl. "What's up?"

"Something about this guy," Lily answered, not taking her eyes from the cursing ABB member that she'd pinned to the ground with her borrowed throwing daggers.

"What the fuck are you doing out bitch!" Was the not so polite response from the man in question who was currently pinned to the ground like an insect on display.

"I know you," Lily said with narrowed eyes, once the man had paused in his ranting to regain his breath. "One of my 'guards' before Bakuda got the bright idea to strap that bomb to my neck. Jong-Hyun right?" She continued without giving the captive man a chance to respond. "Listen carefully, I will find my sister before this night is through with or without your help. That's a promise. So make this faster and tell me where she is!"

"Why the fuck should I?" Jong-Hyun snarled back struggling ineffectually from where he was pinned down.

Taylor barely resisted rolling her eyes. If Winslow had taught her anything, it had taught her how to read people. The summoner felt that she had gotten pretty good at it, was forced to really. As a result of that, it wasn't hard for her to see that the gangster's anger was a thin mask that just barely covered his fear. Whether that was because he was currently the captive of two capes, one a hero, and the other a former prisoner, or due to the mention of Lily's sister, Taylor wasn't sure.

"Did you know that Lung made sure that my sister was never aware of who guarded me before the bomb?" Lily asked instead of answering the man's question. "He felt, correctly, that my sister, who is already hard enough to control, might take exception to those particular members. I heard the whispers and the gossip," she continued, "of what was left of the ones that were a part of our initial 'recruitment'. My sister was never afraid to hold a grudge," Lily admitted with a smile that seemed equal parts sad and fiercely proud to Taylor's eyes.

"Someone like Lung must have considered it a good deal," Taylor mused aloud, careful to remain expressionless as Jong-Hyun's attention snapped to her. "A few unpowered members must have seemed like more than a fair trade for someone as powerful and diverse as The Painted Lady."

"No doubt," Lily agreed, snapping out of her thoughts throwing Taylor a thankful glance and turning a cold look to their captive audience. "In case you're curious about why I'm telling you this, it's simple. The reason I'm telling you this and the reason that you should tell me where she is are one and the same." Lily looked grimly down at her captive audience, "It is because whether or not you tell me where she is right now determines if I give her your name and the part you played in my confinement. Whether you end up in jail or like the last morons who hurt me that my sister got her hands on."

Taylor shifted slightly at the way any remaining color and defiance seemed to bleach away from the downed ABB member. Whatever the Lady had done to the other gangsters must have been really bad. She wasn't exactly enthused with threatening someone with a probably gruesome death but it at least answered what exactly the guy was afraid of. Thankfully it wouldn't be an issue, Jong-Hyun had to fight off a stutter from the speed at which he revealed what he knew.

They were close.

* * *

It took them less than 10 minutes to find the place their reluctant informant had told them where their quarry was supposed to be. Between Lily's power assisted mobility and Taylor's own toad trained parkour skills, the pair had been able to make good time through the city.

Judging by the sounds of battle going on, Taylor assumed that their reluctant ABB snitch's information was good. It was a relief. It had been far too long since they'd left everyone else to face Lung.

Turning the corner the pair stopped.

Finally.

Finally, they had found The Painted Lady.

Maybe now they could strike a decisive blow and finally make a start on putting an end to this overblown gang war that was tearing her city apart.

The Painted Lady looked much the same as Taylor remembered her. Her kimono was a different color, though of an equally fine quality to Taylor's inexperienced eye. The traditional Japanese garb that was the older master's preferred costume still clashed wildly with her more practical combat boots. Her makeup was as immaculate as ever despite the fighting she must have been a part of.

A massive rat the size of a large dog made of what looked like rubber from a car tire hunched menacingly by her side. It looked ready to leap at a moment's notice, apparently uncaring of its mangled appearance from what looked like gunfire which combined with the tire treads that ran across the entirety of its body made it look hideously malformed.

The older cape still eschewed the use of one sleeve, leaving one arm bare to grant herself more surface with which to make use of her tattoos. Rather than the small knife she'd used to fend off Taylor and Kichi the last time she'd seen her, The Painted Lady now wielded a Japanese blade of middling length. The blade was not clean. Painted on its formerly polished surface were the efforts of her violent work.

She was also, as far as Taylor could see, the only person present that looked completely unruffled and untouched by the chaos around her. At her back looking a little more battered was Bakuda as the pair faced off against Miss Militia and Velocity.

They appeared to be in the middle of a stalemate, with Bakuda aiming her grenade launcher menacingly at a huddled form behind Militia that Taylor couldn't see as the Protectorate hero stood protectively before them, a particularly lethal looking rifle aimed unerringly at the gas mask wearing tinker. Velocity looked to almost be vibrating as he held himself back from trying to use his speed to turn the situation to their advantage.

Lily interrupted Taylor from making any further observations.

"Finally," she gasped, looking relieved, staring at her sister with an intensity that Taylor wasn't sure she'd ever seen before.

"Hisako!"

Taylor had to choke back an oath at Lily's sudden shout, her hand darting toward the hilt of her blade as she tensed. She would have greatly preferred having been able to assess the situation before announcing their presence.

All attention immediately zeroed in on the intruding pair. Taylor's hand clenched around the hilt of her blade so hard that it ached. Her eyes were locked onto The Painted Lady, the ultimate focus of her entire mission tonight. She was surprised at what she saw.

She had only met the other woman in person one time during her fight to rescue Chemist from the ABB ambush on him led by Bushido. That combined with Tattletale's information about the woman during the conclave at Somer's Rock had given Taylor a fair picture of the other woman. She was extremely skilled and not afraid to kill. She rarely showed emotion, generally keeping to an unnerving blank face as that was only occasionally interrupted by hate and murderous intent.

In short, she was a very intimidating cape and not somebody Taylor would generally want to be anywhere near, especially without her toads. Which was why the unadulterated shock on the other woman's face caught Taylor so off-guard. That shock slowly morphed into something else, an almost… warmth, Taylor decided for lack of a better word, that she didn't know the other woman was capable of.

"What the fuck?"

Bakuda's indignant shout cut through the area like a particularly grating knife.

The bomb tinker had lowered her grenade launcher and turned towards the commotion, momentarily forgetting about her former targets.

"What the hell are you doing out of your cage bitch," the tinker snarled, heedless at the way her fellow ABB cape stilled at the invective. "And what the fuck did you do to my bomb? You should be a fucking puddle!" She shouted, sounding almost offended.

Whatever positive emotion that may or may not have been on The Painted Lady's face had bleached away during the bomb tinker's raving. In its place was something fiendishly anticipatory and vicious.

Before Taylor could think on it any further The Painted Lady whirled on her former ally, blade flashing with preternatural speed as it eagerly sought its target. The tinkers throat was no match for folded steel as flesh parted easily and Bakuda collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

Taylor heard gasps and a curse. She wasn't sure if it was from herself or the Protectorate heroes nearby. The only sound that could be heard was the thunder in her ears and the grotesque gurgling rasping noise as Bakuda fought to form words. It was a futile effort.

The Painted Lady stared down at the hacking woman as she grasped feebly for her throat in a fruitless effort to contain her remaining vitality.

The blank mask of The Painted Lady shattered as her lips curved into a small smile. It was beautiful and cruel, and perhaps the most genuine emotion she'd ever shown in her life.

"She's mine." Her tone was flat and the words carried easily over Bakuda's weakening gasps, "you shouldn't have touched her."

Taylor had gotten used to violence. In her short career as a cape, she'd found more than her fair share of action. She wasn't necessarily a stranger to death either. The gang war hadn't been kind to anyone after all and her toad's old war stories were not always for the faint of heart. But she'd never seen someone so callously and effortlessly murdered right before her eyes.

Lisa's words during the Conclave about what The Painted Lady would do to the ABB when she found her sister echoed in her skull. The thinker had declared that she would express her feelings toward them, suddenly, violently, and all over the place.

Taylor wondered if Lisa knew just how right she was.

If Taylor and the rest of the capes in the area were stunned by the casual brutality, Lily was not. Not wasting any more time for words, she sprinted towards her sister and threw herself into a full-bodied hug.

The Painted Lady had reacted to the noise of her approach and caught her in what seemed like an instinctive reaction, standing there awkwardly as Lily hugged her fiercely.

Deciding it was best to give the pair a moment, and not wanting to get any closer to The Painted Lady then necessary until she calmed down, Taylor made her way over to Miss Militia to see what she could learn.

* * *

 **Lily**

Lily heard Jiraiya's strangled gasp when her sister turned and permanently silenced Bakuda, but all she could focus on was her seeing her sister again.

Unable to contain it anymore, she sprinted towards her sister, leaping at her and hugging her as hard as she could. She did her best to convey all of her feelings to her stunted sister, hoping that her older sister would be able to understand even a fraction of just how relieved she was.

"Tadaima," she whispers.

I'm home, she thinks.

Lily did her best to fight off the stinging that was consuming her eyes when Hisako tightened her grip in response and buried her face into the crook of Hisako's neck.

Lily buried herself in Hisako's familiar scent, a mix of floral and steel, and did her best to not completely lose it. It didn't feel real. She was terrified that she'd wake up and find that horrible bomb still strapped to her throat as her sister continued her forced servitude to the ABB.

A few long moments later Lily took a deep, fortifying breath and felt like she could maybe face the world again.

She stepped back and looked at her sister. Lily had to stifle a choked laugh when her sister rewarded her efforts with an attempt at a smile.

"Hey. You've gotten better," Lily noted, "have you been practicing?"

It still wasn't quite right, Lily knew. Maybe it never would be. Maybe her sister's smile would always seem a little hollow. A little off-putting to the casual observer. Something of her true nature might always lurk beneath it, raising the hairs on their neck and sending a warning they didn't quite understand. Hisako had always made people uneasy after all. But to Lily, right then, her sister's smile outshone the Mona Lisa.

"A little," her sister admitted. "It's harder without you," Hisako said.

'I missed you too,' Lily heard.

"I apologize for killing her in front of you," Hisako said after a moment.

Lily immediately understood what her sister meant. For all that she didn't really understand a lot of social cues, Hisako never liked lying to her. She was sorry that she killed Bakuda in front of her, not that she'd just slit her throat and left her to die moments earlier.

Lily realized most people would be horrified. Maybe she should have been too.

But she wasn't.

She loved her sister. Admired her. It was without question, even if many people might not understand why.

But she also knew her sister. And Lily had known her sister when she'd decided to get close to her, to open her heart to her. Maybe some people would be horrified by Hisako's words and actions. But right now, all Lily could feel was relief. Relief at being reunited again with her older sister and relief that Bakuda could no longer hurt her.

How long had it been since she felt safety?

"It's okay," she replied.

And maybe it made her a bad person. But, as far as she was concerned, all that mattered was that she and Hisako were finally free.

"The ABB has to die," Hisako said, the only indication of her feelings on the subject the way her hand curled eagerly around the hilt of her blade. "Lung must die," she continued.

A scuff of noise alerted them to someone approaching. Before Lily could even think about her borrowed knives, Hisako had grabbed her and spun around, placing herself and her blade between Lily and whoever approached, her massive rat construct leaping in front of them both with a silent snarl, its worm-like tail thrashing angrily.

* * *

 **Taylor**

Her long strides towards the two Protectorate heroes quickened once she got close enough to see the familiar white lab coat that covered the huddled form that Miss Militia was standing guard over.

"Chemist," she said once she got in speaking distance, eyes roaming her ally in search of injury. "You okay?" she asked, giving a quick nod to Miss Militia and Velocity.

"Jiraiya?" He asked, pain fogging is voice, his goggle-clad face turning to meet her gaze.

"What happened?"

She frowned as she took in his appearance. His formerly pristine white lab coat was scuffed and dirtied. More worryingly though was the way he clutched at his leg. Her frown became a grimace when she noticed that it was likely broken. The harsh dent in his chem backpack and the broken pieces that were formerly his caster gun were noted as well, though she was mostly worried about his leg.

"Ah," he said, apparently noticing the direction of her attention. "Cricket got a little closer to me than I would have liked," he said a little self-deprecatingly.

The disapproving frown that formed across her face was thankfully hidden behind her mask. Chemist didn't need that in his state, but she mentally increased getting him some basic training higher up on her to-do list.

"Thankfully Velocity got her off me and Miss Militia finished her off," he said, gesturing to the side.

Following his direction, Taylor was shocked to find Velocity 20 feet away securing a downed and injured Cricket.

He must have run off while they were talking she noted distantly as she finally took in the full area. She'd been so focused on the two ABB capes that she'd entirely missed the downed Empire thugs and Cricket. What looked like rusted metal spikes and hooks were strewn haphazardly everywhere, adding to the ruined area.

"What exactly happened with you since we split up?" Taylor demanded.

"I wouldn't mind knowing that as well," Miss Militia added, keeping a careful eye on The Painted Lady and Lily, the barrel of her weapon never wavering even as she turned toward the pair.

Chemist jerked toward her in surprise only to let out a muffled curse as he jostled his injured leg.

"Be careful," Miss Militia reprimanded, 'I didn't save you just for you to make it worse," she continued, managing to make the admonishment sound concerned rather than dismissive.

"Right," he agreed sheepishly, "sorry."

"So?" Taylor asked.

Taylor felt a bit bad about pushing Greg, but to say they were on a time crunch would be putting it lightly.

She whipped her head East as she felt one of the warm spots in her mind that she associated with her toads abruptly disappear.

Gamariki…

Lung was still fighting then.

"I ended up paired with the Travelers and New Wave. We found some trouble pretty quick," he admitted. We ran into Lung fighting against Kaiser and a bunch of Empire capes. The call was made for me to hit the area with my rust chem."

"In order to take out any weapons and deal with Kaiser I assume?" Miss Militia asked, sounding interested.

"The hope was that it would work on Lung as well," Chemist corrected. "He was already pretty big by the time we found them, and his scales look metal after all."

"You had enough chems for that?" Taylor asked.

"Well, you told me not to be shy with my list when Coil demanded my chems for the attack," Chemist said with a grin despite his obvious pain. "So yeah, I'm pretty flush right now as far as materials go. They must have really wanted my rusting chem for the attack because he got me everything I asked for. And I asked for a lot."

"So what happened?" Taylor urged.

His grin turned a little sour.

"The chem worked fine on Kaiser, just like last time. But it did nothing to Lung. His scales might look like metal, but they must be organic because he wasn't affected at all. Kaiser didn't last much longer after that."

"And then?"

"We bailed not long after," he said a little guiltily. "Coil made the call across our comms. We didn't want to make Lung any stronger. New Wave stayed behind to deal with Rune and Crusader in the skies and I left with the Travelers. We hoped that Krieg would be able to bail out Kaiser or that Kaiser had some sort of escape plan like last time and Lung would calm down with no one left to fight."

"It didn't exactly turn out that way," Taylor said in what she hoped sounded like dry sarcasm even though she feared it sounded vaguely hysterical as she recalled the monster she'd left her toads to fight alone. But, she continued in an effort to assuage her ally's guilt, "Kaiser was alive last I saw him, don't worry. New Wave was still dealing with the Empire flyers when we headed out though."

"Good," Chemist breathed in relief. "Or not good exactly," he amended, flustered as he realized who exactly he was talking about, "but you know what I mean."

Taylor nodded in agreement, "We must have just missed each other," she noted. "I got there right as Assault and Armsmaster stopped Lung from finishing off Kaiser. Revenant showed up too."

"They were okay when you left?"

"Yeah," Taylor replied. "They were fine. And I left a bunch of toads to help them out," she said in an effort to reassure Miss Militia.

"Don't worry Militia, they'll be fine."

Taylor flinched in surprise at the unknown voice as Velocity made a reappearance in a blur of speed.

"I just got word that Dauntless was being rerouted to help them out with Lung. They'd been fighting Hookwolf and his crew before they came our way. Spray took some serious damage apparently so Pray took him away. Doubt we'll be hearing from those two for a while."

"And Battery?"

"She's on her way here to help secure the scene."

Some tension bled out from the patriotic themed hero's frame at the reassurance from her fellow Protectorate hero.

"I'll bet Battery wasn't happy with that," Miss Militia replied.

Velocity snorted, "No, not at all. But Assault is tough, he'll be alright. And we can't exactly leave all of this unattended," the mover said reasonably, gesturing towards the downed Empire cape and thugs as well as the remaining ABB cape.

He kept a careful eye on The Painted Lady who was still engrossed with Lily as he spoke to Chemist, "What else can you tell us? Any information that you have from your Alliance will be a help."

"I heard that Faultline and her crew ambushed Hookwolf and his group. They took out Storm Tiger which is why the only other cape he had with him was Cricket by the time he made it to us."

"The Traveler's had bounced once Cricket was taken out, they didn't wanna hang around you guys any longer than they had to," he said a little apologetically to the Protectorate heroes.

Turning back to Taylor he continued, "I decided to stick around and do my best to help out."

"You got Hookwolf as well as Kaiser?" Taylor asked.

At times like this, it was really hard to connect the hero Chemist with Greg Veder. Though, she thought ruefully, the same was likely true of Taylor Hebert and Jiraiya.

"Yeah," he said a little embarrassed. "It didn't work as well on Hookwolf though, he kept growing metal almost as fast as it rusted away. Still, between that and Bakuda's bombs, he didn't stick around for very long. I wasn't able to do anything really on the ABB side though. Especially not after Cricket got a hold of me," he finished with a grimace.

"You did more than enough," Taylor told him honestly.

"Thanks," he said, seeming to relax a little at her assessment. "Well anyway, the rest of it is pretty much what you say. Kind of a standoff what with Bakuda's crazy shit. The Painted Lady mostly played keep away or focused on the unpowered thugs. Guess she didn't want to help the ABB very much," he guessed.

"Oh," he said, after a moment while everyone absorbed the new information. Turning to Miss Militia and Assault, he continued, "During the standoff I heard some chatter that some of Coil's mercenaries ran into Oni Lee taking on Fog and Night, so they should be tied up for a while hopefully," he concluded, gesturing at the little Bluetooth in his ear.

She hadn't noticed that. Better not let Kichi know she was slipping. She wasn't sure what observational awareness training might entail when left to a toad like Gamakichi and she was in no hurry to find out.

"Guess that means he survived fighting it out with Purity," she mused aloud, standing up when she noticed Lily step away from The Painted Lady from the corner of her eye.

"So what's next boss?" Chemist asked.

"Let's find out," she replied, making her way over to Lily and The Lady, ignoring the warnings from the Protectorate heroes. "Please let them know about my own mission tonight with the Alliance," she added over her shoulder as she made her way towards the sisters.

As she approached the pair she began to be able to make sense of what they were saying.

"Lung must die," the older cape was telling her younger sister seriously.

Taylor allowed her boots to scuff against the cement, not wanting to sneak up on someone as volatile as The Painted Lady.

The women in question reacted instantly. Spinning, she placed herself between her sister and the sound, her sword held horizontally across her body. Her rat leapt to their defense, placing its body between the two and Taylor.

Taylor narrowed her eyes when she noted what looked like a shifting mass of color settling at the older woman's wrist, under the single sleeve she wore, a tattoo no doubt should the sword and rat construct not be enough.

Stopping Taylor raised her arms in a disarming gesture and waited. She was keenly aware of her lack of amphibious backup and hoped Lily would be able to keep the other woman in check.

Taylor wasn't arrogant enough to believe that she'd come out well in a fight against someone who'd been able to hold off Gamakichi.

Thankfully Lily was there to stop things from escalating.

"Hisako," Lily spoke, placing her hand on her sister's shoulder, "that's Jiraiya. She's one of the heroes who rescued me."

The Painted Lady, Hisako, Taylor reminded herself, tilted her head observing the taller cape.

Taylor stood still under the other woman's gaze. Refusing to flinch after all that she'd been a part of since she first put on her mask.

Hisako slid her blade back into its sheath in a smooth, practiced motion.

"This will be remembered," she informed her flatly which Taylor was coming to suspect was the other woman's normal tone of voice. "What do you want?"

"Same as you," Taylor responded, offering a deliberately unbothered shrug. She refused to be nervous in front of this woman. "You want Lung," she continued in response to the questioning tilt of the other woman's head, "and I want this gang war bullshit to stop tearing apart my city. I know where he is," she continued, thinking of her toads and doing her best not to dwell on the fact that she could feel one less than the number there should be. "I'll lead you to him if you help us take him out."

Hisako was quiet as she contemplated Taylor's words. Try as she might, Taylor had no idea what the older cape thought of her offer. Lily stood near her sister fidgeting a little nervously. The other girl stood closer than was strictly necessary really, but Taylor could hardly blame her.

"Done," Hisako stated simply.

The older woman bent down smoothly and placed a hand on her rat construct. Taylor watched fascinated as its movement stilled, turning from a hissing menace to a rubber statue. Color seemed to be racing up her fingertips and forming a rat shape, coalescing into an Asian styled rat tattoo which then proceeded to race up her bare arm and settle at her neck.

Unnerving was Taylor's thought. "Good," was what she said to the other woman. "Then let's get going."

"I wish you'd rethink that," Miss Militia told her.

Taylor, having heard the older woman's approach was unsurprised at the voice from behind. She turned to see that the older woman was giving Hisako an evaluating look, no doubt trying to reconcile what they knew of her with the new information of her forced recruitment.

"I'm sure I don't need to tell you how dangerous Lung is," she continued. "Please, let the older heroes take care of it."

"I can't do that," Taylor replied apologetically if a bit brusquely. She felt bad, but they'd wasted enough time as it is. "Even if I wanted to, my toads are still there."

Miss Militia's frown was obvious even behind her bandana. Still, she seemed to recognize a lost fight when she saw one and turned her attention to the other cape. A flash of green accompanied the shift in her attention, the taser at her hip turned into a professional looking military rifle at her back. Taylor wasn't experienced enough with guns to say which exactly it was though.

"If you touch her," the older woman said, leaving her sentence hanging in a warning.

For her part, Hisako didn't deign to acknowledge the threat, shifting in impatience.

"Please be careful," Miss Militia entreated again. "I can't stop you, but please don't be foolish. Lung is not to be trifled with. Follow the lead of the more experienced heroes."

"Lung is already dead," Hisako spoke up, finally responding to the protectorate cape's words. "He died the moment he touched my sister."

"I'll be careful," Taylor interjected hastily before the two could start exchanging words. "Please make sure Chemist gets medical attention. Bombs aren't really his thing, but he might be able to help you check over Bakuda and make sure that there aren't any nasty surprises," she added. "Or at least that everything is safe to touch."

"Thank you," the older hero replied, her attention shifting from former ABB cape to Taylor. "And I'll make sure that he gets taken care of.

Unsure of what else to say Taylor just nodded in reply.

"Let's go."

Five minutes into their jog towards Lung and the others Hisako called a stop.

"Too slow," the older woman said as she put her hand onto a nearby delivery truck.

Taylor had to fight a shudder as a massive spider emerged from the side of the vehicle. The creature was huge, far bigger than spiders had any right to be as far as Taylor was concerned. At least 6 feet tall and closer to 8 feet long, the arachnid construct was made of dull brown metal, a mirror of the trucks own material, hunched patiently for its passengers.

Taylor grimaced as the other two clambered onto the spider. Between its thorax and bulbous metal abdomen, there was more than enough room for four passengers let alone three. However, that didn't mean Taylor had to like it.

Doing her best to shake off any disquiet, she quickly made her way onto the creature and pointed in the direction to where her toads were still battling Lung.

The spider headed off with a speedy if unsettling, skittering gait. It was a lot faster she had to admit as the streets sped by, but, she greatly preferred toads to spiders.

* * *

They were almost there. She sent a pulse to her remaining toads receiving a similar sensation a moment later as their spider mount rounded the corner.

The battle was both much the same as Taylor remembered and yet even worse. There wasn't a single warehouse near the fight left standing.

Lung had somehow become even more monstrous.

He might have been even bigger than before though it was hard for her to tell. He had sprouted a second set of wings beneath his first, though they didn't look fully formed yet. The spikes that had adorned his tail had transformed into serrated hooks and his mouth was still a monstrous hell pit of jagged fangs that wouldn't allow the beast to fully close it. The four sections of his open mouth let out a constant stream of drool and embers.

It was almost impossible to believe that this… thing, had once been human. The only reason she could believe it herself was that she knew for a fact it was true.

Even as they raced towards them he swung the stump of his right arm, sending an inferno towards an obviously injured Assault only for Dauntless to arrive at his side in a blur, his famed shield held between the two creating a bubble like shield that seemed to eat at the flame.

Wait.

Stump?

Taylor double checked and saw that her initial impression was correct. Lung had clearly suffered during their prolonged fight.

Aside from the obviousness of his dismemberment, there were also gaping slashes across a lot of his body that seemed mostly healed. The result of Kichi's wind blade Taylor was almost certain.

Why hadn't he healed that already?

Dauntless answered with a sharp jab of his spear. The length of his famed Arclance grew near instantaneously, slamming into Lung with a crack like thunder.

If Lung felt it, he didn't show it as he whipped his tail around, batting a leaping Gama away and sending the armored toad crashing over 20 feet away into a crumpled heap.

She slid off the spider as they reached the battle.

"Be careful Lily," she said distractedly as she raced towards the bundle of warmth in her mind that was heading her way.

"Tatsu," she said in relief as her yellow toad landed in front of her.

Gamatatsu gave a tired grin to his summoner, his normal silliness and buoyancy leached from such a long and serious fight.

"Kichi sent me to update you, sis."

"Quickly please," Taylor urged, flinching as Lung's claws met Armsmaster's armor with a horrible screeching noise, sending the Protectorate leader flying.

Dauntless leaped to his defense, acting the part of a buzzing fly as he sped across the battlefield, his empowered boots eating the distance at a speed that would probably unmatched by anyone aside from Velocity. He stabbed out periodically, sending generally ineffectual shots from his Arclance as he struggled to hold and contain Lung's attention.

New Wave did their best to aid Dauntless from the sky but it was debatable whether he even felt most of it.

"The good guy fliers took out the ghost guy but the rock lady got away," Tatsu said, speaking with an unusual speed and seriousness. "The evil metal guy I think got away too and the dragon guy killed the zombie."

New Wave got Crusader then, that was something. Kaiser and Rune looked to have escaped in the chaos though.

Revenant though…

If everything she'd heard about that particular cape was true, then death was hardly going to stop him permanently.

Interesting, but not useful at the moment.

"What's with Lung, why isn't he healing? And what happened to Gamariki?"

Gamatatsu's expression became somber at the mention of his fellow toad. The expression was alien to his normally affable cherubic features.

"The dragon man hurt Riki-san. But he'll live," the toad reassured his relieved summoner. "The Master of Arm's and bro hit Lung with a tranquilizer thing," he continued. "They said that he was too big for it to work, but that it slowed his healing."

Taylor sent an assessing look to Lung and she realized that Tatsu was right. Rather than not healing anymore like she'd thought, his regeneration was only drastically slowed. The cuts from what she assumed were Kichi's wind blades had further closed, leaving behind thick ropey scarring and even his stump had grown a little bit in the short time they'd been talking.

"What happened to his arm?"

"That weird red hero guy, Assault did it with Gama. I don't really understand it, but he had Gama hit him as hard as he could for a while and then he kicked a car door at the dragon guy. I dunno what he did but it went super-fast! It tore off his arm like it was nothing!"

She turned to thank her toad summon but stopped when she noticed the way the yellow toad swayed, practically fighting to stay on his feet.

"Thank you," she told the toad sincerely, placing a hand on the toad. "You fought hard. Please rest," she ordered.

"Big sis?" Tatsu asked questioningly before he disappeared in a blast of smoke as she sent him back to Myoboku.

A rush of familiar energy filled her, singing through her veins and reinvigorating her. She felt more alert all of a sudden. She hadn't realized how much being so low on her internal energy from all of the summonings that she'd performed tonight had affected her.

It's a shame she'd have to use it all again right away.

None of her toads would add a significant amount of strength to this fight to matter. Not any that she could summon with her current amount of energy anyway.

She flinched away from the heat of a truly massive inferno courtesy of Lung that she could feel from here.

That didn't mean she couldn't help though.

Her hands practically flew through her seals, and with a grunt of effort, she plunged her hand to the ground. Her vision disappeared in a cloud of smoke from her summons as her previous surge of energy left her as quick as it had come.

"What are we dealing with?" A gruff voice asked.

Her toad stood at almost 5 feet in height and nearly as wide. Clad in a simple brown robe and a straw hat with a wispy goatee, he had a rough, scarred hide the color of concrete. The very picture of a grizzled old toad.

At his side, nearly as large as him was an oversized sake jug. The entirety of its surface was covered with complex seals and runes that nearly gave Taylor a headache to look at.

"Gamafuin," she greeted. "I need your help with the fire."

"Easy enough," the old toad grunted, putting a hand onto his jug. A seemingly random section of the jugs many seals glowed a fierce blue as the toad fed energy into the container.

"Ready," he reported.

"Good. Do it please."

"On it!"

Wrapping his arm around the massive container and hefting it easily, the toad launched himself towards the fighting.

* * *

 **Gamakichi**

What the hell would it take to put this guy down?

These were the thoughts of an exhausted Gamakichi as he reapplied the winds cutting edge to his blade, frowning at the way it flickered weakly. Even after a soldier pill, he was dangerously low on chakra.

No matter what they did, nothing seemed to slow this guy down. It was almost enough for him to agree with Taylor's sentiment before the fight.

He really wouldn't mind having his father around right about now.

They'd even cut the fucker's arm off and it barely slowed him down, he thought irritated.

A look towards Lung let him know that he was busy dealing with Armsmaster, Dauntless, and an obviously injured Gama.

The perfect time for a sneak attack he figured. He cursed, not for the first time about his injured arm.

He'd never performed a Toad Sword Beheading with only one hand before, but, there was a first time for everything he figured.

Crouching his tired body he focused his chakra and launched himself forward. A second internal curse followed when he noticed he wasn't nearly as fast as the first time he'd used the technique earlier into the fight.

He cursed for real when despite not looking in his direction and continuing his fight with the heroes, Lung sent scorching streams of fire towards the young ninja toad.

He felt the feeble wind that shrouded his blade wink out as his concentration broke and mentally prepared himself for a world of pain as he clenched his eyes shut in anticipation.

A moment passed.

No pain?

A gruff voice intruded in his confusion, "Eyes open ya pussy. Are you a toad or a tadpole?"

Confused, the reddish-orange toad opened his eyes and looked towards the source of the voice.

"Gamafuin-sama," he said in surprise, watching as the last of the fire Lung had sent his way was sucked into the old toad's sake jug.

"What's with the surprise huh?" The old toad asked annoyed. "Think I can't take one measly dragon at my advanced age huh?"

"No, that's not wha –," Kichi hurried to reassure the venerable toad only to be interrupted once more.

"I've faced more than a fucking dragon back in my day you little shit," the old toad continued, incensed even as he absorbed another blast of fire aimed at the humans who were flying in the sky above and pelting the dragon man with bright blasts of light.

Gamakichi let out an exhausted breath as the older toad lectured him about "the good old days" and how they'd gone to war against the entirety of the dragon summons clan, and how if one little dragon was enough to stop him then maybe he needed to step up his training.

The young toad groused to himself uncharitably under his breath.

"Maybe the fire wouldn't have been so bad after all?"

* * *

 **Taylor**

She frowned worriedly at the fighters, especially her toads, wishing she could do something more to help.

She nearly cheered in relief when the newly summoned Gamafuin arrived just in time to save Kichi from a disastrous collision with Lung's fire.

Glory Girl took a looping pattern as she flew at Lung from the side, crashing into the beast with massive force and making him stumble to his knees.

Before anyone could capitalize, he'd let loose another blast of flames and backhanded the New Wave brute with his nearly fully healed arm, sending Glory Girl flying away.

This needed to end and Taylor had no idea what to do. She was all out of tricks.

"No use!" She heard from the side.

The turned to see Lily facing Lung, arm still extended from her throw.

"They're too small," Lily said worriedly when one of her knives easily went through Lung. Her power may have made the knives cut through Lung as easily as they did anything else, but they weren't nearly large enough to hamper him.

"It's enough," Hisako replied to her younger sibling, not showing any of the concern of her younger sister.

"Do you guys have a plan?" Taylor asked hopefully, jogging over to the sisters and doing her best to ignore the stare of the massive steel tiger Hisako must have summoned.

At somewhere in size between a horse and a bear and sporting claws that were almost as long as her own tanto, Taylor didn't want to antagonize the beast or its master so she slowed down to a walk as she got closer.

She noticed the way the construct was placed so that Lily was behind it. Between her and any danger and surmised that Hisako had summoned the creature to protect her younger sister.

For her part, Hisako stood up from her crouch as Taylor got closer, lifting both of her hands from where they'd been resting on the cement.

"The plan is to kill Lung," Hisako stated simply, eyes never leaving the beastly figure that was her former employer.

Taylor felt an uncharacteristic burst of frustration at the unhelpful statement.

"And how do you plan to do that?" She asked tightly.

She flinched as the murderously anticipatory gaze switched from Lung to herself. Flashbacks of what this woman had done to Bakuda not even 10 minutes ago played in her mind and causing her to immediately regret antagonizing the other woman.

Thankfully, saving Lily seemed to have earned her some sort of consideration.

"Like so," Hisako said after a long moment.

At an unseen signal from Hisako, her metal spider leaped from its hiding place and ambushed lung. Long metal legs skittering and screeching against Lung's metallic scales as it sprung on his back, stabbing at him as well as it could.

Irritated, the massive brute reached back and grabbed the massive arachnid easily in his newly healed hand. Palming the massive spider, he easily hauled the metal construct and spiked it into the ground. He sent a warding wave of fire towards the heroes and toads as he stomped on the mangled spider construct, ending its existence.

Lung stilled as he stood over the corpse of the metal arachnid and he realized just what had attacked him.

The entirety of the fight Lung had been an unceasing onslaught of fire, noise, and rage. Always moving, always attacking. Taking hits that would have killed anyone else and sending them back.

He was utterly silent as the understanding of Hisako's betrayal settled into his conscious.

Turning, he looked directly at the three of them. Taylor felt the heat of his molten gaze even though it was focused solely on Hisako.

The four grotesque fanged sections of his maw extended fully outward, revealing an empty cavern of razor sharp death as he let out a horrible sound. A mix of a beast's roar and a man's scream.

Ignoring the capes and toads, Lung charged at the three of them, wings flapping to give his massive leaps added distance and increased strength.

"Oh fuck."

Taylor wasn't usually one to swear. This felt like a more than reasonable time for it though.

Lily seemed to share her sentiment, flinching away from the ABB leader and hiding behind her sister's construct, clutching at it in what Taylor assumed was a mostly feeble attempt for comfort.

He was almost upon them when two massive serpentine forms erupted from the concrete and intercepted his charge.

A gigantic Chinese dragon and an almost similarly oversized snake made of concrete gravel wound around Lung, biting and squeezing in an effort to stop the mammoth cape.

Taylor stared at the titanic battle in awe. She had no idea that Hisako was capable of holding her constructs inside the material she'd formed them in. She'd always assumed that they'd immediately formed at the point of skin contact. For that matter, she hadn't realized the older master could call forth her constructs at a distance after summoning them either.

Lung's instinctive blast of fire had little effect on the stone skin of the constructs.

His mouth opened to release another horrible sound, his hateful gaze never leaving Hisako as he struggled against her massive creations. Cracks rippled through the forms of her snake and dragon as the overworked constructs tried and failed to contain Lung.

The Painted Lady didn't flinch even as Lung let out a victorious roar when he broke free of the constraints, shattering the two serpentine constructs and stumbling forward from his sudden freedom.

"Shut up and die," she commanded, her steel tiger launching itself at the massive brute.

Lung let out a contemptuous snarl as he made to bat away the metal tiger only to howl in surprised pain as the tiger kept running, somehow cleaving Lung's flesh from his body as it raced towards its target.

The gigantic steel tiger propelled itself forward with a silent snarl into a powerful leap straight towards Lung's chest and erupted from his back in an explosion of gore."

Lung stumbled to a stop, mouth open in silent agony and collapsed to the street with a mighty crash.

Toad and cape alike stared at the gruesome sight.

How?

A white glow from the corner of her eyes threatened to tear her gaze from the almost unbelievable sight. A quick tilt of her head confirmed that Purity had finally arrived, though she remained uncharacteristically still, just floating above and observing the sight. Sharing in the disbelief of every single Brockton Bay cape at the sight before them.

Taylor numbly returned her gaze to the slowly shrinking body of Lung as the Empire blaster flew off, no doubt to spread the news

The strongest cape in Brockton Bay and the Dragon of Kyushu was no more.

Lung was dead.


	35. Interlude 4-b: Sisters

**Interlude 4.b: Sisters (4 Days After the Battle)**

 **Lily**

She woke up from her nap slowly. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and froze when she found her fingers dancing across her throat. With a frown, she firmly pulled her hand away and shifted herself into a seated position on the couch. Touching her throat had become a recent and unwelcome habit of hers. She generally didn't realize she was doing it until it was already done. Fingers subconsciously worrying away at a deadly bomb that was no longer there.

A quick glance at the surprisingly spacious apartment revealed that Hisako had yet to return from wherever she'd been. A part of Lily wondered how her sister came across this apartment.

Another, more realistic part of her rationalized that said apartment was firmly in what was formerly ABB territory and that she probably didn't want to know what happened to the original owners. She preferred to think that Lung had given her sister the apartment as part of her membership into the Azn Bad Boys. Still, she hadn't asked her sister directly for fear of the answer. Of being proven right.

Doing her best to banish such dark thoughts, she looked around the room again, pausing as her eyes alighted on the throwing daggers sitting on the coffee table, newly polished and gleaming in the artificial light, lying next to the borrowed mask of her rescuer.

That's right.

Lily hadn't had a chance to return them to their rightful owner in the chaos following Lung's death. She'd felt bad about running from the other heroes, especially her rescuer. But, she hadn't been willing to lose her sister so quickly after she'd found her. Hisako was still a criminal, no matter if she'd been coerced into the act. And Lily knew that Bakuda and Lung weren't the only tallies on her sister's body count.

A guilty part of her wondered what someone with an outside perspective would think of her. Of course Lily knew the murder was wrong. No matter who it was really. And she also knew how dangerous Hisako could be, how she wouldn't have hesitated to cut down anyone in her way to her revenge on Lung and the ABB.

But…

Hisako was still Lily's sister. And in the end, as far as she was concerned, a few doubts and guilty feelings here and there were ultimately a small price to pay.

Her eyes tracked back to the knives on the table. She really should find a time to get those back to her rescuer. And to properly thank her of course.

Jiraiya.

A strange name for a girl with strange powers.

She'd recognized the name of course. Lily wasn't as knowledgeable about her heritage as Hisako, but she was hardly ignorant either, and she could admit that her rescuer's cape name fit her and her powers to a T.

The taller girl had been kind though. Despite what Lily suspected were a natural awkwardness and the danger of the situation. Idly, she wondered what the other cape thought of her sister.

Lily came up with a blank as she realized how little she'd knew about the other cape. She hadn't recognized the hero when she'd first saw her and helped her deal with the bomb strapped to her throat. Lily was generally pretty knowledgeable about the capes in the Bay. And capes in general really. She could hardly help the interest after she'd gotten her own powers.

Either Jiraiya had been pretty small time before rescuing her or she was much newer than her abilities and actions suggested.

She felt a rising determination triumph over her lazing about as she found herself suddenly determined to learn more about the capes who'd rescued her.

Hopping off the couch, she padded over to the computer and logged onto the PHO.

Deciding to look up her second rescuer first and the one she was personally less interested in, Lily was surprised to discover that Tattletale was, in fact, a villain. She was further surprised to find out that's basically all anyone really knew about the girl. No one even knew her power. Just a lot of vague speculation and a description of her costume.

Lily, of course, knew that Tattletale was a thinker after meeting the other girl, the way she'd sussed out one of Lily's deepest secrets so easily had been pretty noteworthy, as well as worrying. She was impressed that Tattletale had managed to keep a lid on it for so long. She was apparently a member of a relatively new crew that specialized in B&E's and escapes. The Undersiders.

Something about that name niggled at her. It sounded familiar. Where had she heard it before?

Clicking onto the PHO page for their villain team, Lily choked at the list of their known exploits. One, in particular, struck a chord with her.

They were the ones crazy enough to rob the Ruby Dreams Casino?!

One of her rescuers had been part of a team that had robbed Lung?

Lily had gotten the impression of a certain amount of arrogance from the other girl in their brief meetings but she hadn't seemed stupid or suicidal to her.

She frowned as she looked through the web page.

Apparently, the Undersiders hadn't been seen doing anything major since that last robbery. Or anything at all really. Given their last target, the speculation as to their fates was predictably rather grim.

Tattletale at least survived obviously. Lily wondered what happened to the rest of her team and what led her to help a hero rescue a kidnapped girl from the ABB.

Still, she wasn't certain how to feel about one of her rescuers being a villain.

Her thoughts drifted back to her sister.

What was it people said about stones and glass houses?

Deciding to just be thankful for the help and hope that the other girl was doing okay, Lily decided to look up her other rescuer, the one she was truly interested in.

The Toad Summoner.

The taller cape had been amazing that night. The way she'd remained calm and in control, never hesitating with her decisions, just doing what had to be done. Her fighting skills were nothing to laugh at either. Lily had recognized that easily enough, having been trained herself by Hisako who was something of a prodigy when it came to combat.

Lily wanted to know more about her.

A few clicks to navigate away from the Brockton Bay villains section over to the heroes side, mousing over, she clicked to the independent capes.

Lily found her rescuer easily enough.

Jiraiya had clearly made something of a name for herself while Lily had been busy being held captive. Her profile was the number 6 most popular of the independent capes in Brockton Bay, behind only Revenant, Parian, and a few of members of New Wave.

Feeling a strange sense of anticipation, she clicked onto the stickied post made for the Jiraiya's first known heroic act.

 **Welcome to the Parahumans Online message boards.**

You are currently logged in, Bee_Sting

You are viewing:

• Threads you have replied to

• AND Threads that have new replies

• OR private message conversations with new replies

• Thread OP is displayed.

• Ten posts per page

• Last ten messages in private message history.

• Threads and private messages are ordered chronologically.

 **Topic: A New Hero in the Bay**

 **In: Boards** **Places** **America** **Brockton Bay Discussion**

 **Chilldrizzle** (Original Poster)

Posted On Apr 12th 2011:

Hey all, it looks like we got a new cape on the scene and it's a hero for a change. Will wonders never cease?

What we know so far -

Empire made a move on Parian today downtown. Due to the recent boost of ABB cape power? Either way, Rune, Alabaster, and Hookwolf of all people were in the area. I was in the area to see her show. The sudden Nazi intrusion was not appreciated.

Ignoring the dick move of going after a Rogue in the first place, they threatened us to keep her compliant.

It was looking a little scary for a bit when a girl riding a giant frog jumped from a nearby building to save the day.

...

Yeah, my response too. But, as a native Broktonite, I quickly got over that and ignoring all caution and common sense I did my best to take in the chaos.

It almost got out of hand at the end there but our very own Clockblocker and Vista swooped in with the last minute save Desu Ex style.

What I know -

-Our new cape is a girl, fairly tall but clearly Wards age so keep it appropriate.

-The toad is a projection or something, not a case 53. She made more.

-The 2nd frog she called was huge, able to wrestle it out with Hookwolf!

-The first frog had blaster abilities of some sort it shot from its mouth and a big ass knife. It managed to take out Rune with some sorta sticky liquid.

-Our new frog girl has got some mad fighting skills. She took on Alabaster in a scary af knife fight.

-Not a brute, caught a nasty slash from Alabaster on her arm.

A little touch and go for a while but at the end of the day the score is - Frog Girl and Wards - 1, Empire Nazi Assholes - 0.

Hookwolf, Rune, Alabaster, and about a dozen garden variety thugs were being loaded up in PRT vehicles by the time I left.

Talk about a debut.

 **(Showing page 1 of 7)**

► **Randumb** (Cape Groupie)

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

About time we got a new hero in this shithole! I was this close to running for the hills if the ABB or Empire got yet another new psycho with powers.

Hookwolf captured?! WTF!

Frog girl ftw

► **D33pPurple**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

Frog creation? That's gotta be the weirdest Master power out there right?

► **UndercoverDad** (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

D33pPurple look up Mysterious Stranger sometime. Powers get... strange.

On the topic though, it's always good to see new capes turn hero for a change We can always use a little more help.

That said, I'm not sure how I feel about someone so young going up against someone like Hookwolf.

► **notaZOMBIE**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

UndercoverDad agreed, no way the Empire takes this lying down. Hope our new hero manages to stay safe.

► **SilentSc0pe**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

I was there too! Managed to get some video of the fight.

Careful though, the fight with frog girl and Alabaster gets pretty brutal.

 **[Video Link]**

► **suburban samurai** (not a real samurai)

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

Hooooooooooly shit! I didn't know I was scared of frogs until just now.

► **notabiologist**

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

suburban samurai judging by the skin and leg shape I think it's a toad.

Anyone else see how fast the smaller one used his knife to deflect Rune's attack? And that water blast? Those projections are no joke.

► **Sheldor** (Unverified Conqueror )

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

Definitely a brute and mover rating for those projections. Blaster for the smaller one as well.

Side note, I think I've replayed Rune getting knocked out like 10 times now. Always does the old Jewish heart proud to see Nazi's get what they deserve.

► **sid3step**

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

Yeah the projections are cool and all, but what about that knife fight? Holy shit that was crazy.

Parian with the save as well! Our new hero's career almost ended as quick as it started.

 **End of Page. 1,** **2** **,** **3** **...** **5** **,** **6** **,** **7**

 **(Showing page 2 of 7)**

► **n0t_Crazy** (Tinfoil Hat)

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

Is our "hero's" mask distinctly ABB colors with what looks like Japanese on the front.

That was a pretty brutal way to take out Alabaster also. Are we sure she's a hero?

► **The_Rational_1**

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

n0t_Crazy ... most appropriate tag I've seen in a while

► **firey-discord** (Wiki Warrior)

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

n0t_Crazy fuck out of here with that shit. no ABB member would charge 3 empire capes, including fucking hookwolf of all people just to save some white cape.

Speaking of her mask, it's about the only decent part of her costume aside from her weapon huh? She must be brand new.

Anyone able to translate what her mask says?

And are we sure about that no brute rating? She took a nasty hit to the guy from that big ass knife of Alabaster's and kept going

► **Ultraman** (Kyushu Survivor)

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

firey-discord it says Oil. As for what that means, I couldn't say. It looks like the mesh she's wearing might be some sort of armor as well to answer your brute theory.

► **AverageAlexandros** (Cape Husband)

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

I hope she's okay. That's a hell of a thing for your first night out. That cut looked nasty as well.

Glad to see more heroes, this city really needs them.

 **End of Page.** **1** **, 2,** **3** **,** **4** **,** **5** **,** **6** **,** **7**

 **Topic: A New Hero in the Bay**

 **In: Boards** **Places** **America** **Brockton Bay Discussion**

► **littlebit** (Activist)

Posted On Apr 15th 2011:

inspiredPr0ze all I'm saying is that fight was pretty intense. I'm not dismissing what she did. I just think that she should join the wards before there's any retaliation. How much can frogs really help once Kaiser brings all of his heavies out?

 **(Showing page 7 of 8)**

► **Sassafrass**

Replied On Apr 15th 2011:

Hey XxVoid_CowboyxXyou still alive mate? A new cape in your town and a female at that? Thought you'd be all over this. Where've you been lately?

► **White Fairy** (Veteran Member)

Replied On Apr 15th 2011:

Sassafrass Personally I've been enjoying the peace and quiet.

amatuer_eye Those pictures you uploaded from the fight are amazing! You do good work. Try to be more careful next time though!

That frog in the armor is absolutely massive. It must be over 12 feet easy. And to be able to hold off Hookwolf... the new girl is no joke.

► **Fr33zeFram3**

Replied On Apr 15th 2011:

sassafrass the fuck you calling him in here for? just enjoy the temporary reprieve. he was probably banned again

anyone notice the thing she did with her hands before the big frog came out? what's up with that?

► **Parian** (Verified Cape) (Rogue)

Replied On Apr 15th 2011:

I won't betray her trust by giving out too many details, but, I can tell you all that the new cape's name is Jiraiya and that she's definitely a hero and I'm very grateful that she arrived when she did.

Also, they're toads not frogs.

► **Clockblocker** (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied On Apr 15th 2011:

Seconded on the toads not frog thing! They do not like being called frogs!

Some of them can talk and express just how much they hate it in fact. You've been warned!

► **Vista** (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied On Apr 15th 2011:

Clockblocker you're amazing, even with toads you can put your foot in your mouth

Jiraiya seems really nice! It's great to have another female hero. Girl power!

The smaller toad is called Gamakichi and the big guy's name is Gama.

► **80s_Style** (Born in the 90s)

Replied On Apr 15th 2011:

Clockblocker Vista Great job helping out the newbie! I'm sure a lot of people will rest easier with 3 less Empire capes to worry about.

► **All Might** (Veteran Member) (Verified Cape) (Symbol of Peace)

Replied On Apr 15th 2011:

What a cool kid! She really went Plus Ultra!

► **internal_supression**

Replied On Apr 15th 2011:

Clockblocker Vista her toads have names and can talk?! what exactly are we dealing with here?

► **Rocksteady** (Moderator)

Replied On Apr 15th 2011:

Hey guys, I'm locking this thread.

Please take all further discussion and speculation regarding the cape Jiraiya to **[Here]**.

 **End of Page.** **1** **,** **2** **,** **3** **...** **5** **,** **6** **, 7**

Lily rubbed her eyes as she arched her back, groaning in satisfaction. She leaned back in her chair as she took in what she'd just learned.

Okay, on the one hand, she knew that Jiraiya must have been a certain amount of crazy to be acting so openly against Lung, but to start a fight with Hookwolf on her first time out? They'd tried sending him to the Birdcage twice for a reason; the man was an unrepentant murderer. And his power was nothing to joke about either. Not just Hookwolf either, two other Empire capes and assorted thugs.

Who the hell was Jiraiya?

Lily shook her head incredulously. If her guess was right, the other girl was around her age or slightly younger. What kind of… kid! Just decided to do something like that?

It was so stupid!

Lily shook her hand again, hand rubbing at her bare throat.

It was also a little inspiring.

A thought began tickling at the back of her mind as she thought about the Toad cape. Putting it off for now, she moused over to the link the mod provided and moved on to Jiraiya's page.

 **Topic: Jiraiya**

 **In: Boards** **Places** **America** **Brockton Bay** **Heroes (Public Board)**

 **Miraclemic** (Original Poster) (Resigned Brocktonite)

Posted On Apr 14th 2011:

The Discussion Thread for Brockton Bay's favorite toad summoner. Sources confirmed she's under age so remember kids, follow the rules.

 **(Post will update as new information comes in)**

 **What we know so far -**

-Master class cape that summons toads (don't call them frogs) with various abilities

-Jiraiya herself has shown skill in the use of parkour, traps, hand to hand combat, and blade fighting. Whether these skills are a part of her power or her own natural ability is unknown

-Her toads have shown a variety of abilities, most commonly are some variety of brute, mover, and blaster abilities.

-Unconfirmed reports of her eyes changing color to a yellow with a horizontal bar iris similar to a toad, if true, the implications are unknown.

-Shown strong heroic tendencies

 **Known Toads (Updated as new info discovered)**

Gamakichi - 6ft, reddish/orange. Low mover, brute, and blaster. Seen using wind, and water blast, some sort of sticky binding attack, and a sword. Might be able to enhance his swords cutting edge. Smokes.

Gama - ~15ft, green with armor. low mover, high brute. Can't speak english.

Gamatatsu - 6ft, yellow. low mover, brute, blaster. Wind blasts. Rumored to be the brother of Gamakichi. Likes candy.

Unkown female toad - big ribbon, lipstick. Used water blasts. Injured by Lung, still alive?

Various small to normal sized toads. Abilities unknown.

 **Edit -** Confirmed by both Clockblocker and Miss Militia, her toads are living creatures, not projections. She apparently spends some sort of limited internal energy to bring them in and maintain them. Speculating further at the unusual openness about this part of her power, I'm assuming she did this to assuage any fears that she's not like similar masters such as Nilbog or Blasto.

 **Edit the second -** The reddish-orange toad with the knife and smoking problem she's most commonly seen with is apparently named Gamakichi.

 **Edit the third -** Rated a Master 6

That's what we know of her abilities as of now. Thanks everyone who added what they knew, I edited accordingly. As always feel free to speculate further.

Don't be fooled by the short time she's been around, the new kid hasn't slowed down since her crazy debut. Hopefully, she's a bit more careful in the future before she makes too many powerful enemies.

 **(Showing page 1 of 43)**

► **Bagrat** (The Guy in the Know) (Veteran Member)

Replied On Apr 14th 2011:

Dug around and tapped a few sources. They big yellow toad is apparently the candy fiend. Apparently he (it?) might be related to the orange one. They can apparently combine their abilities to enhance their blaster powers. Rumor is that their enhanced attack is what happened to that ABB stash that got hit a little bit after the Empire fight.

► **The_Radical_One** (Unverified Author)

Replied On Apr 14th 2011:

Powers sure do get strange huh? Anyone else wanna see the face of the PRT guy who has to give ratings about toad powers?

Still, always good to see another hero around ig

► **Azn_Kung-fu**

Replied On Apr 14th 2011:

Anyone see the moves Jiraiya's doing? She might be pretty good at those Ninja Warrior challenges.

Also, what kind of master learns to move like that?

► **Minion#2** (Unverified Super-Villain Minion)

Replied On Apr 14th 2011:

Something something shipping, by the dread powers invested in me i summon XxVoid_CowboyxX bless this thread with your obnoxious presence.

Also i wonder what would happen if she did summon a frog? Would they kill each other?

► **SpicyPineappl3**

Replied On Apr 14th 2011:

Minion#2 I heard if you say his name 3 times in front of the mirror at night he appears to fill your home with shitposts

Seriously though, did he finally get perma'd? Haven't seen him around in forever.

Azn_Kung-fu agreed, master and some sort of combat thinker maybe?

Was anyone around for when she fought all those ABB capes? Heard there was another newbie in the area too and Aegis for some reason? Anyone confirm that samurai wannabe finally got caught?

► **Raptoronline1** (Unverified Dino)

Replied On Apr 14th 2011:

*grumbles* Someone managed to make Toads (Not Frogs see?) before Dinos? What is this world coming to? Otherwise gj Jiraiya keep up the good work, I hope too see more of you!

► **BombHands**

Replied On Apr 14th 2011:

Slight derail, sorry, but... what's with all the weird tags? Dino? Resigned Brocktonite? I've been seeing even weirder ones lately too. They don't usually just give those out randomly.

► **StudyH4rd**

Replied On Apr 14th 2011:

BombHands That software tinker, Code Monkey, hacked the PHO again. Just enjoy it, they'll have it fixed in under a week once Tin-Mother gets around to kicking his ass again.

► **Automatonation**

Replied On Apr 14th 2011:

All I know, is that if a 12ish foot tall amphibian wants to be called a toad, not a frog, I'll agree to it.

Wouldn't want him to be unhoppy.

What does Gamakichi mean, anyway? sounds japanese, and my Searchle Fu is weak.

► **Aristo-TTL**

Replied On Apr 14th 2011:

So. Since Parian apparently knows the new cape... superpowered team-up? Because I would pay to see a giant teddybear giving the Empire a Fastball Special (pre-cape comics thing. Look it up).

► **Azn_Kung-fu**

Replied On Apr 14th 2011:

Aristo-TTL Can't tell from the angle of the video, but doesn't it seem like the toads and her are kinda moving the same? I mean, besides all the swords and random blaster powers. Lots of dodging and then moving in close inside the reach of whoever she's facing.

Makes you wonder if she's going to pick up more and maybe get some blaster powers later.

 **End of Page. 1,** **2** **,** **3** **...** **41** **,** **42** **,** **43**

 **(Showing page 6 of 43)**

► **Drop_Bear**

Replied On Apr 18th 2011:

why doesn't anyone ever summon bears?

► **Cyber_Brawler**

Replied On Apr 18th 2011:

Drop_Bear Cause Bears are dangerous enough, last thing we need is a Bear master on the level of Hellhound.

I heard she has been seen Riding that Gamakichi. Sounds like it'd be fun, Toad Surfing anyone?

► **Drop_Bear**

Replied On Apr 18th 2011:

Cyber_Brawler There is no such thing as dangerous enough. I will settle for nothing less than 50 story tall Bears that breath fire.

► **Raptoronline1** (Unverified Dino)

Replied On Apr 18th 2011:

Drop_Bear We could combine ideas and have dinos riding bears! Or Bears riding dinos, either or lol.

► **ShillyShally** (Verified PRT Agent) (Unverified Smart Ass)

Replied On Apr 18th 2011:

I interrupt your daily thread derail with breaking news. Fresh off the press, the current official rankings for our new hero courtesy of the PRT

Master 6 With a variable Blaster/Mover/Brute ranking depending on the toad she's using.

Due to the special nature of her power, and the current unknown limit to her creatures, this rating is to be considered temporary.

Post on my fellow nerds.

► **Thatdude**

Replied On Apr 18th 2011:

ShillayShally That's an impressive Master ranking with a slew of maybe minor ones depending on the Toad I guess. More so when she hasn't run out of Toads probably. I wonder if she has any Endbringer sized ones?

► **AllYourBase** (Verified Idiot)

Replied On Apr 19th 2011:

Don't even joke about that.

Drop_Bear chill with the bear shit dude

► **The_most_Fabulous** (Fashionista in Training)

Replied On Apr 20th 2011:

Damn... that new costume. Somebody decided to get a little upgrade before kicking in some ABB faces huh?

► **Shirogame**

Replied On Apr 20th 2011:

Agreed The_most_Fabulous its freaking awesome

And her new Cape Verification photo is awesome. Sitting on her toad in the new duds while he sharpens his sword and makes smoking look cool.

Bad Ass

 **End of Page.** **1** **, 2,** **3** **,** **4** **...** **41** **,** **42** **,** **43**

 **(Showing page 27 of 43)**

► **Intra**

Replied On Apr 20th 2011:

Looks like she kept the Kanji you guys noticed from her old mask too. Really confused as to why it says Oil though.

► **Unluckiest_man_alive** (Confirmed Unluckiest)

Replied On Apr 20th 2011:

So as is usual for me I got caught up in an ABB mugging after an actual normal month for me. I was saved however by Jiraiya and someone I hadn't seen before, a guy in a white Lab Coat and goggles covering his face. Had a weird setup on his back that seemed to make balls? He threw one at the group and had them coughing and crying. Toad girl went in and cleaned up real quick. After making sure I was alright they headed out to stop more crime.

It was a short but awesome encounter, also it seems that Jiraiya is teaming up with someone. With him and Parian maybe we have the start of a new Independent Hero Group in the Bay? It's been needed for a long time.

► **BetaVersion**

Replied On Apr 20th 2011:

Unluckiest_man_alive Parian's a rogue though

► **AllYourBase** (Verified Idiot)

Replied On Apr 20th 2011:

I saw that new cape. Kinda reminded me of the Medic from that Aleph game Team Fortress 2.

► **Aristo-TTL**

Replied On Apr20th 2011:

Unluckiest_Man_Alive: A lab coat? Probably a Tinker then. Better watch his back if that's true. Non-Protectorate Tinkers have a shelf-life usually measured in weeks unless they can get help. Less if they decide to go rouge or hero. Good thing he's got the Gallant Jiraiya on his side.

AllYourBase: Never heard of it. Uber and Leet kinda ruined gaming for me. I mostly go for the Aleph movie imports these days.

ThatDude: Would it really matter if she did have an endbringer size toad? Last I checked Endbringers are bullshit beyond bullshit. I mean, I seriously wouldn't complain if she managed to pull something like that off but honestly I can't imagine what a giant toad could do that Lung didn't already try.

Speaking of Lung: anybody know what his impression of Jiraiya is? I can't imagine he's too happy at a non-Asian using Asian references.

► **Thatdude**

Replied On Apr 20th 2011:

AllYourBase I wasn't even joking just wondering what her limits are to that. Maybe her powers grows as she does and eventually she can summon a Toad Army if that's more to your liking.

Aristo-TTL Considering Lung held off Levi all on his own for hours it would be a great deal of help. Lung never actively helped in Endbringer fights after that and could of been a massive help in past fights. A Toad that large and powerful would be extremely helpful in fights.

► **Sugar_enthusiast**

Replied On Apr 22nd 2011:

Sooooooo much WTF lol. Here have some pics of Jiraiya and Gamakichi casually buying like 5 pounds of candy in full costume like it's no big deal.

 **[Picture 1] [Picture 2] [Picture 3] [Picture 4]**

She looks kinda worried maybe? Candy is apparently serious shit to her, add it to her main info page lol.

► **SkyHigh**

Replied On Apr 22nd 2011:

Sugar_enthusiast That's a lot of candy. Giant bag of candy as treats for giant toads? Or is she doing a supply run for her tinker buddy? A gizmo that uses sugar as fuel or he uses the candy as raw materials to brew up stuff like his coughing gas?

► **Aristo-TTL**

Replied On Apr 22nd 2011:

Sugar_enthusiast: I just... what? Damn. Now I'm no exercise nut, but I'm pretty sure carboloading doesn't work that way. Her dentist bill must be toad-ally insane.

[USER=8464] Thatdude[/USER]: *looks at empty place on the map where Kyushu used to be* 'Great deal of help.' Right. I think we could all do with a bit less of that kind of help. Somehow I can't imagine having a Kaiju wrestling match in the middle of a city would be good for the local economy.

► **Thatdude**

Replied On Apr 22nd 2011:

Aristo-TTL If they aren't focusing on the rest of the capes and instead on the potentially very large Toad in their face, casualties should go down quite a bit hopefully. And ya the city could get pretty messed up, but I consider it worth it if more people come out alive.

Anywho she seems to be a great new Hero to have here and she has been making good waves all around. Hope she takes care to stay safe herself when saving out butts because outside the Toads she seems to be a Normie considering past fights.

 **End of Page.** **1** **,** **2** **, 3,** **4** **,** **5** **...** **41** **,** **42** **,** **43**

 **(Showing page 35 of 43)**

► **Sukoshi** (Verified Scouting Toad) (Unverified King)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Jiraiya's the best! She uses us smaller toads much more than the last two summoners did. She knows it's not just about flashy jutsu!

Like right now, we're playing a trick on that stupid samurai guy she keeps beating up. It's gonna be awesome.

► **SimplySam**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Sukoshi uhhh... what's with your tags dude?

► **MachSp33d**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

SimplySam Trolls gonna troll? RP got outta hand? Because otherwise I got nothing

Anyone else think Parian might have had a hand in our formerly costume challenged hero after the big save?

SkyHigh He's definitely a Tinker then? That's cool, and another hero as well! Gotta be karma paying us back for all of these new ABB capes.

► **Aegis** (Wards ENE) (Verified Cape)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

The new tinker's name is Chemist. **[Here]** is his thread.

► **Sikan**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

 **Quote** (►Azn_Kung-fu - Anyone see the moves Jiraiya's doing? She might be pretty good at those Ninja Warrior challenges. Also, what kind of master learns to move like that?)

sorry for late reply but...

Azn_Kung-Fu: Interesting you should say that, considering the [ **source]** of her cape name. Bit ballsy doing it in the same town as Lung BTW, he might take being compared to a giant snake personally. OTOH there aren't many heroic toad figures to base a name on.

And what kind of master cape learns CQC? The smart kind that also wears body armor so the first mook that manages to sneak by her minions doesn't take her out with a bat the back of the head or a knife to the kidney. Remember, the first rule of fighting a Master is to target them, not their minions. Seems Jiraiya knows that too, and decided not to make it easy for anyone trying that route. Not really a martial artist, anyone who is care to look and decide if that is simply good training, or something more?

most Fabulous: I don't know, maybe she yanked a rogue fashion designer out of peril most dire ` Parian has a rep for staying as far away from parahumans fights as she can. But I don't think anyone is going to begrudge her making a few costumes (remember, spares!) for Jiraiya after the solid she did Parian with the Empire.

BTW, where was the Protectorate in that? I mean Clock and Vista were close enough (which is rather an elastic term for Brockton's cutest and scariest Shaker) to pull the BDH at the end. Where were the Protectorate Heroes when the Empire made this move?

Sugar Enthusiast

Would you tell a Toad the size of a small truck, at least, no if he got a sudden sweet tongue?

► **Aristo-TTL**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

ThatDude: Well, yeah. Any fight where more people live to see the end of it is a win, but the term Pyrrhic Victory exists for a reason.

Sukoshi: Hail oh great amphibian monarch! Pray tell, how have thee gained access to our digital playground?

► **Khepri** (Unverified Heroic Spirit)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Sukoshi Hey, if you're really one of her toads, welcome to the thread. Make sure you find some way to post this "prank" of yours, yeah?

► **Automatonation**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Wait, smaller toads? All we've seen are really big toads. Does that mean that Jiraiya has even more flexibility than just hitting things really hard with mysteriously acrobatic amphibians?

Also, Jutsu? Doesn't that mean method or technique?

Are you toads teaching Jiraiya how to do your kung fu?

That's cool.

Teach me too?

► **Drop_Bear**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Her Toads have flexible enough fingers to type with? Opposable thumbs would be an advantage over bears, I guess. Of course, I should have known powers would have to add a lot to toads to make them something worth summoning instead of bears. Giant(Size changing?) Magical Ninja Toads with Opposable Thumbs. I guess, if I squint, that would be cooler then summoning bears. Maybe.

► **Maudegonne**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Drop_Bear: Not sure if they have flexible fingers. You could, in theory, type with your knuckles or elbows too. Just gotta tilt it the right way and hope you're not using a touchpad or something with stupidly small keys.

Sukoshi: Hope you don't mind my asking but do you guys have a thing about samurai?

 **End of Page.** **1** **,** **2** **,** **3** **, 4,** **5** **,** **6** **...** **41** **,** **42** **,** **43**

 **(Showing page 37 of 43)**

► **Tin-Mother** (Global Moderator)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Drop_Bear Please keep all further speculation on bear capes and bear armies and their theoretical superiority to toads to the Power Fantasy thread. You're verging on derail. Let's keep on topic people, the focus for this thread is about the Hero cape Jiraiya.

... I can't believe I just had to write that.

► **Drop_Bear**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Tin_Mother But what if the summoned bears were made of tin! Or mothers. I'm not picky, I'll bribe you with either to let me keep rambling.

► **Tin-Mother** (Global Moderator)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Final warning, please redirect all bear talk to **[Here]**

► **Ursa Aurora** (Protectorate Cape) (Verified Cape)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Drop_Bear I feel so forgotten right now. Seriously! People need to check their facts!

Also best of luck to you Jiraiya More animal based heroes are always welcome.

► **20_SidedRevolution** (Verified Nerd)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

uhhh guys... **[Link]** Sukoshi is currently streaming himself playing Frogger online from a cellphone...

► **SimplySam**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

i can't stop watching... he's pretty good huh? where is he anyway? the background kinda looks like a warehouse maybe? and is that a crown on his head? how is doing this? is this real life?

... so many questions

► **20_SidedRevolution** (Verified Nerd)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

SimplySam Chemist set it up apparently going by the stream description. Apparently, the little guy bribed Gamakichi into making him do it. Dunno where he is though.

► **RetroFusion**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Oh shit, he's gonna get a new high score! man... i've never been so invested in a game before

► **EasilyManipulated**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Holy shit! Was that Bushido!?

► **Clockblocker** (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

No... that was Bakuda getting curb stomped by Glory Girl.

 **End of Page.** **1** **,** **2** **,** **3** **,** **4** **, 5,** **6** **,** **7** **...** **41** **,** **42** **,** **43**

 **(Showing page 40 of 43)**

► **Amphibian_enthusiast**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Awwwhhh ... the stream cut out.

Glory Girl better kick the crap out of Bushido, he made Sukoshi lose the high score!

ClockBlocker do you have any idea what's happening?

► **Thatdude**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Neat.

► **Maudegonne**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Not sure if my earlier comments about fingers being unnecessary for using keypads are proven or discredited.

...

Also not sure if I should be envious or embarrassed that a toad, sapient or not, being so dang better with that game.

► **Aristo-TTL**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Automatonation: Would make sense I guess. From what she said, she has a certain amount of energy she can use to call these guys from wherever she's getting them. Definitely more cost efficient to summon the handgun equivalents rather than the autoturrets. Pound for pound she could probably summon a few thousand regular sized toads easy for the same cost as one of the bigger ones, of which we know she can call on at least two at a time. And hell, given that her toads seem to have a long enough duration to go on a full patrol and engage in a full on war with some of the Empire's and ABB's heaviest hitters without returning to their 'home,' for all we know the little ones might be able to remain for an effectively indefinite period. Especially if her energy pools recharge over time. She could be preparing a literally biblical flood of teenage mutant ninja turtles toads to scout out the city, and no one would ever even suspect. How often do you stop to count the number of toads near the sidewalk? Out of curiousity: does she have an upper limit on how many Toads she can have on hand at any given time, or is it entirely related to how much energy she's used?

I for one welcome our new amphibious overlady.

Edit1: Whoa. I'm way behind on this Thread. Also, Sukoshi may have just re-interested me in gaming. Way to go little dude.

Edit2: Uh. Whoops. Sorry everyone, didn't mean to cause trouble.

 **User received an infraction for this post:** Speculation is all well and good, but please refrain from posting comments which may cause unwarranted panic.

► **Aloha**

Replied On Apr 14th 2011:

what the fuck is happening x.x

► **TotallyHip** (and Cool)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

I hella agree with you yo... wtf.

 **End of Page.** **1** **,** **2** **,** **3** **,** **4** **,** **5** **, 6,** **7** **,** **8** **...** **41** **,** **42** **,** **43**

Lily stared at the screen as though the words would suddenly change to something that made sense.

What the actual hell?

Candy raids and internet celebrity toads…

She found herself convinced of a few things after skimming through her profile. One, Jiraiya was clearly a pretty versatile cape. Powerful and skilled, especially for such a new hero.

She also discovered that Jiraiya ending up in the middle of a gang war was not an outlier for the other girl. She apparently had a bit of a habit of finding danger. Lily was satisfied that her first impression hadn't been wrong. Jiraiya was a hero worthy of admiration.

The other thing Lily had discovered was that her power was even weirder than she'd first thought.

Still in a state of mild disbelief, she dove back into the site. Maybe they'd saved the video of the toad's stream. She wouldn't mind seeing Bushido get punched in the face a few times.

* * *

 **Hisako**

A vague sense of satisfaction mingled with her anticipation as she made her way back to her new apartment. Oni Lee was proving to be as slippery to find as she'd expected him to be, but his efforts to rally the remaining members of the ABB meant that a certain amount of visibility was required of him. Soon, she'd be able to find him and finish him.

No doubt he'd be prepared for her. Hisako had made no secret of the fact that she would make the entirety of the ABB pay for taking Lily and threatening her sister's life in order to keep her in line. It would be a fight as well. His martial skills and the ease with which his powers let him get past her animals meant that he proposed a more direct threat to her than even Lung had, distracted as he'd been when she'd killed him.

Hisako could feel her lip quirk upwards slightly as she momentarily let herself imagine the coming confrontation. The thought of fighting a strong opponent never failed to send a sort of warmth and anticipation through her body, addicting almost in how different it was from the almost detached aloofness that was her default state.

Hisako smoothed out her features and focused on more important matters as she approached her current residence. It had been important to her that she find a suitable place for Lily to live after her sister had been stuck in a single room for so long as a hostage.

Her new apartment was spacious and rent controlled. The apartment was a short trip to the water if one were so inclined. It was located in a rather beautiful area near The Lord Street Market in the docks. The apartment was nestled deep into what had formerly been ABB territory, it was more than satisfactory.

The previous tenant hadn't wanted to vacate of course. In fact, he'd objected rather angrily to the idea, but death tended to make such things largely irrelevant in Hisako's experience.

The fact that the man in question had been a high ranking Lieutenant in for the ABB largely in charge of the prostitution rings meant that Hisako hadn't had a reason to bother going through the motions and play nice as she generally did for the sake of Lily.

An hour of relatively monotonous information gathering and a quick bit of mercy later, and Hisako had a new and finely furnished apartment for herself and sister to stay in. Hisako had never understood the ABB members who had enjoyed torture. It seemed so… boring to her even if she understood the practicality of it enough to employ it when needed. She much preferred fighting able opponents.

Entering the apartment quietly so as to not awaken her sister if she was still asleep. Hisako bent down and quickly unlaced her boots. Stepping out of the clunky footwear she paused to examine herself in a mirror.

A slight tick in her facial expression that could have been a frown appeared at the sight of dried blood on the shell of her ear that had escaped her careful cleansing when she'd changed out of her costume before returning home.

Careful not to disturb her sister who seemed to be awake and using the computer, Hisako slipped into the kitchen and quickly wet a washcloth to clean off the remaining evidence of her afternoon's activities.

Lily was neither stupid nor ignorant. She also understood Hisako better than anyone else. Hisako knew that her sister had likely guessed that she wasn't yet done with the ABB.

There could only be one response to what they'd done to them in Hisako's mind.

However, just because Lily likely knew or guessed what she was up too didn't mean that she had to throw that fact into her little sister's face. Lily wasn't like her, she wasn't as ambivalent to the idea of death and killing as Hisako was. Hisako didn't really understand why. But she knew it was true, and that was enough for Hisako to be as discrete as she could be with her extracurricular activities.

Her ablutions done, Hisako walked over to the living room where her sister was absorbed in the glowing computer monitor in front of her. As always recently, the sight of her sister eased an almost imperceptible tension that seemed to follow her around when they spent too much time apart.

Lily, absorbed in her reading, didn't notice as Hisako walked behind her, looking at what the other girl was reading.

"Jiraiya?"

Something that Hisako identified as amusement warmed her slightly as Lily reacted violently to the surprise of her voice.

Jumping and hitting her knee on the computer desk, her little sister swore violently, clutching at the injured limb as she sent a glare towards Hisako.

"Language," Hisako said blankly.

Lily snorted at that as she finally released her leg with a final muttered curse.

"Keep making jokes like that and people won't believe that you don't really get emotions and social cues," Lily said sourly.

Hisako quirked her lips into a little smile for her sister, feeling a little pleased that she'd done it correctly.

"And make some noise while you walk will you? I'm going to put a freaking bell on you," Lily continued to complain. "You're like a freaking cat."

Murmuring the in the affirmative to her sister as she continued her complaints, Hisako read over her shoulders curiously.

She'd only come across the hero twice. Once in the middle of a fight while her former gang made a move on the chemical tinker. And the second, when the toad hero had returned her sister to her.

Hisako didn't know much about the relatively new hero aside from the fact that she had a decent enough skill when it came to fighting. Nothing compared to herself of course, but Hisako could recognize when someone had only recently started training.

The toad of hers, on the other hand, had been quite skilled with his blade. She couldn't remember the last time someone had met her so equally in a fight. True she'd had to make thorough use of her animal constructs in order to mitigate the toad's speed and strength advantage, as well as his unique biology, but it had still been a close fight, near evenly matched when it came to their blades.

She wouldn't mind fighting him again if she got the chance.

Hisako had already decided to retreat rather than fight though should the young hero try to interfere as the dealt her punishment to the ABB. It was a small price to pay for the return of Lily.

"I thought I'd try to learn a little about her," Lily said once she'd noticed where Hisako's attention had drifted to. "You know, since she saved me and all."

"And what did you learn?" Hisako asked, straightening out and looking down at Lily.

"She's impressive," Lily said in answer, "possibly crazy though."

Hisako hummed in response.

"She fought Hookwolf on her first day out," Lily said in response.

The sisters settled into a comfortable silence, Hisako contemplating the red-jacketed hero and enjoying her sister's company in her own way while Lily shifted restlessly.

Hisako narrowed her eyes and made sure her face remained in the typical for her neutral when Lily raised her hand and rubbed absent-mindedly at her throat.

Hisako knew that she didn't generally understand people very well. Things like tone of voice, posture, the way people spoke and its relation to how they felt generally escaped her. This didn't really bother her. She didn't have much use for most people anyway.

However, there was an exception to any rule, and in her case, that exception was named Lily. She understood her sister on a profound level. To such a degree that she'd previously believed herself incapable of when her little sister first started her serious attempts at deepening their relationship. Hisako understood Lily.

As such, Hisako knew that her sister rubbing at her throat when uncomfortable or worried was a new habit of hers. Meant to reassure herself that there was no longer a bomb strapped to a throat that threatened to end her in some terrible manner, put in place by a delusional, arrogant tinker.

It made her want to stab someone.

Lily thought she was being sneaky when she'd gathered up her turtlenecks, scarves, necklaces, and basically anything she owned that touched her throat and gave it to good will.

She should have known better.

Of course Hisako had noticed.

"I think I want to be a hero."

The sudden statement blurted out by her little sister took Hisako's mind from the path of stabbing someone to something far more pressing.

"Oh?"

Lily shifted awkwardly at the tepid response.

"Yeah," she said a little awkwardly, "I don't think I can deal with it anymore. Just doing nothing, hiding my power and pretending I can't help while people are trapped in situations like I was, or worse."

Hisako just stared in response, not saying anything and wondering why the room suddenly seemed smaller. The air stifled and stale.

"So uhh… what do you think? Lily asked worriedly, the silence having taken its toll on her.

"Is it because of Jiraiya?" Hisako asked, idly rethinking her plans to avoid confrontation with the younger cape.

"No," her sister denied hastily, perhaps guessing the path of her sister's thoughts. "Not really," she continued in a more normal tone. "I mean, I'm grateful of course, but, I just don't want anyone to feel like I did I guess. And I don't want to feel so helpless ever again," she ended strongly.

"You know I won't stop you," Hisako responded finally, reluctant and truthful all in one.

She would hardly confine her sister or restrict her choices after violently murdering the last people who had dared to do the same.

The irony that emotions, often so tenuous and confusing for Hisako, rarely felt and usually only distantly then, rose up almost fiercely during this conversation. She didn't need her sister's help this time to discern that they were all largely negative.

She enjoyed them all the same. If only because it was something different.

"Maybe you could join me? Be a hero too?"

Lily's voice was hopeful even as they both knew it was impossible.

"I killed people," Hisako responded. "I don't regret it either," she said, saying what they both knew to be true.

"But you can't help it," Lily responded quickly, as if it were a defense.

"Even if I wanted to do it and the agreed to accept me rather than jail me, they wouldn't let me stay in Brockton Bay."

"I could go with you," Lily argued, "there are rumors that they've accepted villains before!"

"My power is too distinct for a simple re-branding," Hisako replied evenly. "But it doesn't matter. Because I refuse to work for people who would use my relationship with you to control me once more."

"They wouldn't do that," Lily protested. "They're heroes!"

Hisako watched her sister carefully, and wondered, how could someone so smart, be so naive, so trusting.

She supposed she shouldn't complain about this part of her sister. It was likely that part of her that led to them being as close as they were now. Most people wouldn't have tried with someone like Hisako, sister or not.

Still, it was that same aspect of her sister that threatened to harm her.

"I won't stop you from being a hero," Hisako said. "But don't be blind either. Hero or not, they are still people. People that answer to other people and so on and so forth. The world is not as kind as you believe it to be."

Nor as you deserve Hisako thought, watching her sister struggle to accept the truth.

"But," she added, in an attempt to ease her sister's troubled mind, "Just because I cannot be a hero with you, doesn't mean I have to remain a villain."

The surprised yet eager expression on her sister's face told her that she'd said the right thing.

"I wouldn't fight you anyways," Hisako said, moving to her bedroom.

She needed to think.

"I won't let them take me out of Brockton," her sister promised at her back. "If they try to make me go to a new city, then I'll just do it on my own," Lily promised fiercely.

Hisako nodded in acknowledgment, something settling in her at her sister's promise as she closed the door shut behind her.

Relief possibly.

It was always so hard to tell.

Her thoughts whirled around her sister's words and the implications that would have for their lives.

Oni Lee would still have to die of course. There was no other option as far as she was concerned.

But after that…

Well, killing gang members wasn't the only way to extract her revenge on the ABB she thought, thinking about the information about the prostitution rings the weeping, bleeding wretch that was formerly a high ranking ABB Lieutenant and owner of an apartment far too good for him had told her in a bid to end his agony.

She couldn't be a hero like Lily wanted her to be. Didn't really want to be. But, as her mind turned over possibility after possibility on how best to take advantage of the information she'd tortured out of the Lieutenant on the ABB's prolific sex trade, she thought she might be able to do vigilante just fine.

"It might be interesting," she mused aloud, her fickle interest piquing at the thoughts running through her head, "something new."

Her lips quirked up in anticipation.

She wondered what Lily would think.

* * *

 **Lily**

"Fuck."

She ran her hand through her hair as she stared at the closed door to Hisako's bedroom.

Was it selfish of her to want this?

She knew her sister needed her. She knew because Lily needed her just as much. The depended on each other, especially now after finally getting out from the ABB and being together again.

Hisako needed her to help with the emotional stuff and the day to day while she depended on her older sister's strength and presence.

Part of her felt like she could be facing down Leviathan with Eidolon at her side and a part of her would still rather it be Hisako.

They would be okay.

She wasn't actually leaving the city or anything. And it's not like she would cut off all contact with her sister or anything.

It still sucked.

Sighing she turned back to the computer rubbing her throat absentmindedly.

She needed to do this though.

Desperate to take her mind off of things, she quickly backed out of Jiraiya's page and navigated her way to the news section about Brockton Bay. She might as well figure out what people knew of what was going on in the city. Hell, Lily had been there at the end of the fight with Lung and still felt like she knew less than some of the random netizens on the PHO having only been rescued earlier that evening.

Lily sent one last look towards Hisako's room. Shaking her head she clicked on the link to find out what she could learn.

 **Welcome to the Parahumans Online message boards.**

You are currently logged in, Bee_Sting

You are viewing:

• Threads you have replied to

• AND Threads that have new replies

• OR private message conversations with new replies

• Thread OP is displayed.

• Ten posts per page

• Last ten messages in private message history.

• Threads and private messages are ordered chronologically.

 **Topic: Gang War Rocks the Bay**

 **In: Boards** **News** **America** **Brockton Bay**

 **Inquiring Mind** (Original Poster) (Amateur Blogger)

Posted On Apr 25th 2011:

Big stuff going on in Brockton! A huge gang war between the Empire 88 and the Azn Bad Boys has kicked off. For those unfamiliar, they're the two heaviest gangs in the city and represent white supremacists and Asians respectively.

Rumor is that it's bad enough that the local villains and independents held a meet and declared a truce until this disaster dies down.

This seems to have started when the Empire started throwing their weight around in reaction to the recent acquisition of a few new capes by the ABB.

Lung (ABB leader and the only man to solo an endbringer) responded to that by hitting the E88 himself. Those familiar with him will know he rarely takes matters into his own hands so he caught the E88 by surprise.

Kaiser, leader of the Empire responded to this by using his power to... crucify some ABB members.

After that they started attacking each other pretty regularly. Things kept going like this for a bit until the ABB finally upped the ante. Bakuda, one of their new tinkers (a bomb or explosive tinker, not sure) bombed the city. Casualties were in the low 30s and injuries reached triple digits. Some of the victims are still suffering strange and horrifying effects from her exotic tinker bombs.

After that, the city declared an official State of Emergency and called in the National Guard.

I'll link a few relevant articles and information about what's been going on. Please keep in mind what I mentioned above, there is a high amount of violence and in some cases, death. You've been warned.

 **[Link 1] [Link 2] [Link 3] [Link 4] [Link 5]**

 **Edit 4/25 -** Word is out that there is a MASSIVE cape fight going on. Confirmed cape sightings include Fenja, Menja, Hookwolf, Cricket, Oni Lee, Crusader, Purity, The Painted Lady, Lung, Armsmaster, Miss Militia, Assault, Battery, Jiraiya, Spray, Pray, Revenant, Skidmark, Squealer, Leet, Uber, New Wave, Krieg, Rune, and possibly more.

 **Edit 2 4/25 -** The fighting has died down. Known captures include Cricket, Krieg, Menja, and Crusader.

 **Edit 3 4/25 -** Word is spreading that Bakuda and Lung have both been killed by The Painted Lady! The State of Emergency is sitll in effect.

 **(Showing page 1 of 28)**

► **definitelyODD**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Is this what they call the end of days?

► **Ekul**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Jesus fucking christ! That's gotta be nearly every cape in the damn city! What the hell is going on in the Bay!?

► **L33t** (Verified Cape) (Gaming Enthusiast)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Holy shit have I got something for you guys. As a member of the little Alliance in Brockton who've gotten sick of this gang war bullshit, I knew that there was something going down tonight.

And so I thought to myself, L33t, what better time to test the tracking on your new hover camera?

And that little thought gives you this beauty. The fight with Lung in 1080p HD.

Even managed to catch a bit of a 3 way b/w the ABB, Empire, and Protectorate as well. You may now worship me.

 **[Link]**

► **Chrome**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

L33t ughh did you have to have the link play the video from your shitty website?

Holy fuck though. This was going on in the whole city?!

► **zer0_cool**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

L33t What the hell dude, how about a NSFW warning? That was freaking gross.

Did you guys see how big he was? He must've been even bigger than Leviathan... and his face... ugh. The whole thing was nightmare fuel

► **Bruce Lao**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

no way... i didn't think anything could touch Lung...

► **Morgan Sinister**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

fuck Brockton Bay seriously. i feel like i just experienced an endgringer attack

► **WitlessWunder**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

damn... that's one way to hand in your resignation letter i guess. Hisako is bruta

► **Dragonninja** (Unverified Dragon) (Certified Ninja)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

I wonder... did anyone else spot the girl wearing one of Jiraiya's masks? You know, standing next to The Painted Lady, as Lung was charging? Who's she? Anybody know?

 **End of Page. 1,** **2** **,** **3** **...** **26** **,** **27** **,** **28**

 **(Showing page 2 of 28)**

► **Khepri** (Unverified Heroic Spirit)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

It's about fucking time Lung was killed! The only Endbringer fight he ever participated in was against Leviathan and then he promptly did jackshit(Well, besides becoming a gang leader/murder-boss) afterwards. Why the fuck he wasn't just flat out killed years ago, I just don't know. And thank fuck Bakuda is dead. Normal bombs is bad. Tinker bombs are worse.

Now, the(first) big question is what exactly is Oni-Lee gonna do now? He was certainly no leader, plus he doesn't have the sheer firepower of Lung to both hold together the ABB and hold off the E88.

And then there's the E88. With this, they've practically became top dog overnight(Unless the Merchants managed to step up enough to stymie them somehow-not likely). So now they can run the smaller gangs outta town and consolidate their hold on BB.

On the other hand... outside gangs might wanna come in to fill the void

Tl;dr: It's a clusterfuck that just keeps on growing people!

► **Aristo-TTL**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

...shit. On the one hand, we're now down one rage dragon. On the other, the Painted Lady just turned ione of her projections into the Siberian 2.0 thanks to the mystery girl. Speaking of: I'm really hoping that the chick wearing Jiraiya's spare mask is on the hero's side, because otherwise we're all fucked. Unfortunately, judging by how touchy-feely she's getting with the Painted Lady I'm not sure how willing I am to bet on that.

In other news, did anyone else see the lady toad get taken down by Lung? — At least I'm assuming it's a lady, it had a bow and makeup so that's usually a pretty good indicator. (inb4 SJW outrage) — Fucking brutal. Hope she's okay. Looks like Gamakichi didn't take that too well either. His girlfriend (toadfriend? mate? female companion of a toad persuasion) maybe?

Also, holy hell. Did Chemist just attack Hookwolf with a rust bomb?! Does this mean the whole time our resident razorpuppy's biggest weakness was high humidity? lol. Looks like it didn't do Kaiser any favors either, judging by the TKO from Lung after he got hit by it. Who wants to bet Dragon outfits the entire BB PRT with that stuff by this time next week? Could be the next containment foam right here. At least if you happen to have any metal based powers. (No offense meant Weld. You're good people.) Or shields. Or guns. Or armor. Or zippers/buttons/bra straps. Hell, this stuff might be the (almost) all-purpose anti-Tinker weapon we've all been waiting for.

Khepri: I'm still not sure he's actually dead. Not until they cremate the body. Anything less and I'm positive that he'll recover eventually. Dude took on Leviathan solo and lived to tell the tale, as far as I'm concerned he's immortal until proven otherwise. I'm right there with you on the Bakuda hype train though. Fuck that bitch. Put my twelve year old cousin in the hospital with some kind of pain bomb. Doctors said it lit up every nerve in his body at the same time. Hope she rots in the deepest pits of hell until the last sun's light flickers and dies.

The Merchants might have actually stepped up their game though. Near the end there, they did some kind of hit and run with on one of Squealer's trucks. Fucking tinkers. Hope Chemist's rust bombs go into circulation sooner than later. Not really enough to stand against the E88 though. I'm not happy about the would-be Third Reich suddenly climbing to the top of the heap right next door.

Oni-Lee is still a threat though, even if he's never shown any leadership skills. As long as he doesn't lose the Tinker grenades he still has, he's basically got unlimited resupply. This shit isn't over yet. Hopefully without Lung, Bushido or the Painted Lady backing him up though the Protectorate can finally do something about the kamikaze bastard. Doesn't he have a kill order yet? And if he doesn't, why the fuck not?

As for me: I'm currently thinking about a vacation to anywhere that isn't Brockton Bay.

► **walking_on_sunshine** (whoa oh) (Verified Optimist)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Jeez you guys are a happy lot hey? How about the fact that the ABB's basically done for, Kaiser looked like he might have been heavily injured (and with Othala in lock up he'll stay that way for a while), a few Empire capes were captured, and we no longer have to fear the invincible fire brute.

Maybe the heroes can finally start pushing back the tide?

► **Ragdoll** (Verified Cape)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Not to egg on walking_on_sunshine's and his/her little bubble of improbability, but apparently, Glory Girl dropped off Bushido in lock up before helping out with Lung and Crusader. So that's one less ABB cape to deal with as well.

► **Aristo-TTL**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

walking_on_sunshine: Hey, I never said I wasn't happy. But living in Brockton Bay, you either learn to anticipate the ups and down so you can roll with the tide or you get washed away. This isn't over by a long shot, but for the first time in over a decade we've got a real shot at cleaning up the streets I call home. If that means putting up with the would-be successor to Hitler and his little SS group as the top dogs for a bit longer, I can deal with that. My folks were around during the March when the S9 last paid us a visit, I lost an aunt to the Teeth before I was old enough to count, and I grew up at the tail end of Lustrum's crusade. I've stuck it out so far, I ain't giving up now that it looks like the end might finally be in sight.

► **Khepri** (Unverified Heroic Spirit)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Aristo-TTL, well, uh, from what I've seen from the links, Armsy managed to hit Lung with some kind of anti-regen tinker tranq thing and the Painted Lady took out like, Lung's entire mid-section/upper chest area. So it's possible that with the anti-regen helping out, then if you were to take out most of the body's organs and shit like the Painted Lady did (She either took out his stomach and kidneys and intestines or his heart and *heh* lungs in one shot somehow), that you could kill Lung. Too much damage to heal with little to no regeneration available equals one dead dragon/criminal.

walking_on_sunshine (whoa oh) (Verified Optimist), remember, Kaiser has Gesellschaft ties, might be a little bit of Nazi rain on your parade if any of those German fucks come state side

► **Azn_Kung-fu**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Wow... The Painted Lady really knows how to use that sword of hers. And wow, does she know how to look good while doing it... her tattoos especially make her movements almost hypnotic.

That said, she really turned pretty fast and teamed up with Jiraiya and the new girl in a mask. The new girl doesn't really look like a cape (just has a mask, and one of Jiraiya's at that)... even though she has to be mixed up in all of this. However, all of them know how to move - did you see how fast they got from one wartorn area to another? They went from Lung, to Bakuda+The Painted Lady, back to Lung really fast.

That being said, Jiraiya really needs to learn what needs to be dodged. I mean, she's run headlong into steam, explosions, and now dragon fire. I bet her tailor is not happy with her right now. (Still hoping for an introduction to the tailor so that I could get something ordered).

But that finale... The Painted Lady really has been holding back.

► **Raptoronline1** (Unverified Dino)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Azn_Kung-fu It's a good chance the person making the clothes is Parian. When Jiraiya rescued her the costume that our friendly toad master was wearing wasn't particularly good. After that? Whole 'nother matter. When Chemist teamed up with Jiraiya he was probably introduced to Parian to get better duds.

Parian *points up* Any chance I'm right?

► **SkyHigh**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Whoa whoa whoa. the Painted Lady killed Lung? I thought The Painted Lady was an ABB cape, which would make Lung her boss. Then she suddenly turns on the gang for no apparent reason, slicing open Bakuda's throat then taking out Lung with an armor-piercing tiger. Could she be making a takeover play? Something like her saying "I killed Lung, I am stronger than he was. Obey me or join him" to the remaining ABB membership? Given how brutal a lot of gangs are, I'm surprised this sorta Klingon Promotion thing doesn't happen more often. Or was The Painted Lady mastered? Watching the video, it was like a switch flipped. One second she's supporting Bakuda in combat against the Nazis, then she suddenly pivots and severs Bakuda's jugular. Could the (assumed?) cape in civvies and a borrowed mask be a Master who took control of The Painted Lady to use her as a weapon? Note that she was also present when The Painted Lady's tiger killed Lung, so she could've been maintaining her control over The Painted Lady. Depending on how often the Master effect has to be refreshed I wouldn't want to be in the vicinity of The Painted Lady when she comes out of it

► **theBig_scoop** (Freelance Journalist)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Might have a lead on the mystery girl borrowing the mask. Got word from a buddy down at the presinct, apparently 4 ABB gangers heard The Lady was running wild and turned themselves in.

Guess they didn't wanna get Lung'd.

Anyway, word is the girl might be the Lady's little sister. ABB have been holding her hostage in exchange for the elder sister's services. Still chasing down a few sources, but if it's true and Jiraiya rescued her, then it might explain the Lady's rampage.

► **quikstryke**

Replied On Apr 27th 2011:

... Lung'd

From the Dragon of Kyushu to a derogatory verb. How the mighty fall.

He's now a meme...

 **End of Page.** **1** **, 2,** **3** **,** **4** **...** **26** **,** **27** **,** **28**

 **(Showing page 3 of 28)**

► **SkyHigh**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

theBig_scoop ... my theory was less depressing

man, if that's true though, that's messed up

► **Drop_Bear**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

think the little sis might have been the behind the tiger thing? maybe she's a cape too

► **TheCountofMontePesto** (Verified Thinker) (Unverified Messiah)

Replied On Apr 26th 2011:

I can give a bit of added clarity [here] that the Painted Lady and our friendly neighbourhood jiraya cosplayer knew each other prior to this whole mess. My sources indicate the Dear Lady May have been acting for the ABB under duress, if so then I suspect that we may have just seen the end of a Hostage situation. And if that's true then I can gleefully approve of the Painted Lady's heel face turn, you do not want threaten a Capes family and live to tell the tale. And if you do act so foolishly you definitely don't want to have it admitted you strapped a bomb to a persons neck. Fuck Bakuda and may she burn for Ten Thousand millennia in whatever hell exists.

► **Brocktonite03** (Veteran Member)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

That's completely fucked up. Doesn't surprise me though ganger trash.

► **skoolgrl** (Dedicated Troll)

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

lolol omg wtf actually Assault.

Who the fuck just casually trips a hulked out Lung looney tunes style? Gahaha.

Must've watched that 20 times now.

Side note. Never realized he could be such a badass. Lung's arm am I right?

Shame about Revenant though.

► **Razroar**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

skoolgrl power of a Striker 7 ig

agreed on Rev though, he went out like a fucking boss

► **resident_apathy**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Razroar ehhh. he'll be back in like a week.

► **SkyHigh**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

schoolgirl Who casually trips Lung Loony Tunes style? Assault does, yo!

As to Revenant ::bad Austrian accent:: He'll be back.

► **1080pSkeptic**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

SkyHigh No way, those rumors about him are true? Man, Brockton Bay is nuts. I think I'll keep viewing your fair city through the safety of the PHO.

► **MDJ**

Replied On Apr 25th 2011:

Bakuda's dead? Ding-dong, the witch is dead!

Seriously. Me and my firehall were first responders to one of her fucking bombs. There was a family there. Mother, father, two girls. You could tell who was who easily, despite the fact that they'd all been turned into glass.

 **End of Page.** **1** **,** **2** **, 3,** **4** **,** **5** **...** **26** **,** **27** **,** **28**

 **(Showing page 4 of 28)**

► **JonnyBoi**

Replied On Apr 26th 2011:

MDJ i heard some people are still alive after some weird shit from my paramedic friend. Time stop, flesh fusing together, weird painful growths etc...

The point im trying to make is... Hisako/Painted Lady might be my new favorite cape

► **SkyHigh**

Replied On Apr 26th 2011:

JonnyBoi Umm, I know she killed a really nasty psycho bomb tinker with a sadistic streak that makes the Marquis de Sade look like Mr. Rogers, but you DO realize that The Painted Lady is a villain, right? A cape enforcer for the ABB for.. how long now?

► **JonnyBoi**

Replied On Apr 26th 2011:

SkyHigh what ABB? there's hardly anything left aside from Oni Lee. What's to say Hisako won't finish the job?

Sides, if that stuff about her sister is actually true... it absolves a lot in my eyes

A man can dream.

► **MDJ**

Replied On Apr 26th 2011:

JonnyBoi I wouldn't know. I stopped following the coverage of her attacks after the glass bomb. One nightmare is enough.

SkyHigh I don't give a flying fuck that she was a villain. If goddammed Jack Slash slit that monster's throat I'd have smiled and shaken his hand. Those glass statues? You could still see their expressions. The bomb must have beeped or something before it went off, because the father just looked confused, but I could see that the mother had time to realize what was coming.

► **MeatShield** (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied On Apr 26th 2011:

I can confirm that Bakuda's workshop has been seized and her tools and bombs are on their way to a secure area. Word is that a few tinkers are being called into to see what they can figure out about her tech in an effort to help out her surviving victims. Rumor is that Dragon might get involved in the effort, but I cannot confirm that last part with any accuracy.

► **Vandalgyon**

Replied On Apr 26th 2011:

I'm frickin glad the Bay has survived this. Pictures or HD vids just don't do it justice, you had to be there to comprehend it. Hell, that's not even it either, some things you just can't cope with without some time passing. I'm still shaken up.

Lung was a terror constant to some of us, most don't really have realized yet that he's gone for good now. At least that's what it's like for me.

I was there (my luck happens to be bad like that), right at ground zero. Ok, not exactly, since I wasn't squished, but out on the street, easily in the property damage range. Deperately trying to find my sister. I found out later she was alright and worried sick over me, because she got back home well before me.

I'm not ashamed to admit I would have shat my pants then and there when Lung went Kaiju, if I hadn't already vomited up everything I had in me beforehand when I stumbled over one of Bakudan's recent victims, still in the process of melting. And I mean the stumbling literally. When I was released from hospital and they gave me back my shoes and clothing, there were still some bits of that woman's face on the soles and I really lost my shit then and there when I realized that. The clean-up crews and hospitals are the unsung heroes of all of these nightmare episodes and never get enough credit btw, I can only imagine how much nightmare fuel they get to see.

I've never believed in hell (after days like this in the bay it's hard to imagine there's any worse place), but I hope it exists and that psycho Bakudan burns for eternity in some lake made of all that chemical shit she ever tinkered up.

But I digress, let me tell you how I survived what would have been certain death or worse by one of Bakudan's explosions. I was certain I'd die that very second when I suddenly felt something grab me around my hip and pull me back. It was a tongue. One of Jiraiya's toads grabbed me and just pulled me into its mouth until the worst of the explosion went off and got me two corners further away before spitting me out unceremoniously and jumping, again, quite literally, back into the fray.

I know, pics or it didn't happen, but let me tell you, the last thing you think about while sitting in a toad's mouth is making a selfie. But after browsing this thread, who knows, maybe one of the toads will verify my story in here.

Thanks to Jiraiya and thanks to all the toads out there watching over us in the bay. Because we desperately needed them.

► **Food4Thoughtless**

Replied On Apr 26th 2011:

Vandalgyon My first thought was 'Ewww, you got swallowed by a giant toad'. My second thought was that pulling you into his mouth to protect you from an explosion is heroism on the same level as jumping on a grenade.

So, uh, thanks for that moment of cognitive dissonance?

► **Cyber_Brawler** (Verified Bum)

Replied On Apr 27th 2011:

Good lord was it insane. I was taking cover on the other side of town and you could hear the roars and explosions over there!

Lung is down, now what about the E88 ad the Disgusting Merchants?

► **HeavyTreble**

Replied On Apr 27th 2011:

did anyone see the toad carving up lung like a freaking turkey? what the heck did he do to his knife?

metal. as. fuck.

► **RollingAcorn**

Replied On Apr 27th 2011:

Agreed, toads are my new spirit animal. So awesome.

 **End of Page.** **1** **,** **2** **,** **3** **, 4,** **5** **,** **6** **...** **26** **,** **27** **,** **28**

 **(Showing page 5 of 28)**

► **HelloNurse**

Replied On Apr 27th 2011:

The huge toad took a nasty hit from Lung. Gotta suck being the strongest guy on the team when you're duking it out with Lung. Hope he's okay.

► **ComboBreaker**

Replied On Apr 27th 2011:

Has the PRT/Protectorate given an official response to all of this yet?

 **End of Page.** **1** **,** **2** **,** **3** **,** **4** **, 5,** **6** **,** **7** **...** **26** **,** **27** **,** **28**

It was just as awful as Lily had thought it would be. She'd put off looking into the details for a few days. She hadn't been quite willing to look and fully appreciate the scope what had happened that night until now. It wasn't all bad news of course. The ABB gone and some Empire capes captured.

But the cost had been very high.

Lily clenched her hand into a fist as she thought about what they'd said of Bakuda's victims. To think that something that psychotic freak had made had been on her for so long. She kept her hand balled up tightly, refusing the itch to check her throat once more and make sure it was still bare. She eased her hand out of the fist when it started to ache.

At least they were trying to help the survivors of her madness. And if Dragon of all people was really aiding the efforts, then Lily was sure they'd be able to figure something out. She wasn't known as the world's greatest tinker for nothing.

The thought of the other tinkers examining and experimenting on Bakuda's bombs sent a vindictive thrill through her. She just knew that the arrogant bomb tinker would have absolutely despised the thought of 'inferior' tinkers meddling with her genius.

Lily smiled as she indulged in imagining just what that bitch's face would look like as Dragon casually unlocked the secrets of her prized creations.

She wasn't sorry her sister had killed her. She didn't feel bad at all that such an awful woman was no longer in this world. Just as she didn't regret imbuing her sister's tiger with her power to let her kill Lung.

In the eyes of the law, she was sure that she would have been seen as Lung's killer just as much as Hisako was. And yet, as she thought of her imprisonment, the fear and uncertainty, never knowing what would happen to her next or if Hisako was still alive, Lily knew that she'd make the same choice again in a heartbeat.

It probably wasn't a very heroic thought.

A sigh rattled her body as she exited out of the site and shut the computer down. Even though she'd only recently slept, the thoughts of that night and the talk with her sister had left her feeling adrift and worried about the future.

She supposed she should go to bed for real this time. There wasn't any use in staying up and worrying about things that she couldn't change.

Lily stretched deeply as she got up from the computer chair. Sleeping on the couch earlier had done her no favors.

Flicking off the lights in the living room, she shuffled off to her room next to Hisako's. Pausing at her sister's door, she whispered a soft goodnight before heading into her own room.

She was exhausted.

Just one of those days she guessed, flopping gracelessly onto her bed, dead to the world soon after.

* * *

 **AN -** Things I learned... I hate making PHO threads. 3 different threads... i hate my life. apologies if there are any mess ups in the format.

Also, I hope I was able to strike the right tonal balance with the two sisters. Especially Hisako. It was a bit awkward to write her when she interacts with Lily. Because on the one hand, she's still the same as she ever was. Doesn't really get/understand emotions, no problem with killing (as shown by her casual thoughts of the murder/torture of the ABB apartment guy), ppl confuse her, most things are boring to her etc.. however, at the same time, Lily/Flechette is a big honking exception to her psyche in pretty much every way possible. So it felt a little jarring to try to mesh those two ideas as I was forced to in this chapter since they interacted with each other so much here. Hopefully it worked out for you all.

Let me know what you guys think yeah? Thanks for reading.


	36. Interlude 4c - Makeover

Interlude 4.c: – Makeover

 **Sabah and Lisa – Secret Base (Under The Apartment Complex)**

"I like the look you went with," the thinker formerly known as Tattletale admitted. "I've always had a fondness for noir. The hardboiled detectives and the femme fatales had been a guilty pleasure of hers long before she'd become Lisa. "Will it be enough to hide from Coil though?"

The detective angle was admittedly a bit on the nose as far as costume design went Sabah could admit. But the point wasn't really to hide, so much as symbolize a change.

"I think he'll likely be suspicious no matter what," Parian offered. "A new cape joining Jiraiya right after she helped you escape from him? It doesn't exactly take a genius. This is more for everybody else. You're starting a new chapter as a hero. Best to start with a clean slate."

"Is that why you decided on a wig?"

Sabah eyed the wan girl thoughtfully. She was still recovering from the forced drug use she'd suffered under Coil in order to augment her power usage and it showed. But despite the bags under her eyes and sickly pallor of her skin, she hadn't lost a step mentally. She suspected that Lisa's thinker power was augmenting an already sharp intelligence rather than the other girl being solely reliant on her power.

"Don't you already know?"

"I probably could," the now former villain admitted. "But I try not to overuse it. Not on friends anyway."

Sabah raised a brow, "friends?"

"Prospective friends," the thinker corrected with a wry grin.

The only sign of discomfort from the former villain was the absent rubbing at the crook of her elbow. Sabah bit back a disgusted frown. Coil was truly awful. And for him to have planned a similar fate towards Diana… well, it was amazing that he'd managed to keep under the radar for as long as he had if that was the kind of stuff he got up to.

"Allies at the least," the thinker continued. "Besides, why waste my power when I can get the information just as easily by asking?"

Sabah hummed thoughtfully. "Yes," she said in response to the earlier question. "You've been pretty low-key and the Protectorate obviously has much bigger fish to fry at the moment, but it wouldn't take much to link Tattletale with the new blonde thinker hanging around Jiraiya. Especially not after you two publically made contact with each other during the alliance meet up."

The rogue frowned thoughtfully as she slightly adjusted the fitted trench coat the other girl was wearing, had to account for the armored inserts. Thankfully Taylor's jacket had given her a bit of practice with this, though admittedly, Lisa's jacket as a bit less armored and a bit more form-fitting than the toad summoner's battle coat.

"They probably wouldn't give you too much trouble," she offered after she'd finished her adjustments. "The might be glad enough to just have one less villain in the Bay and call it a day, but no need to call any attention to it. Better to let you get yourself some goodwill untainted by your past. That way, if the connection is already made, you have a bit of good karma backing you up. It's your lucky day, because of Taylor, you got a golden ticket to start over without any of the shady crap you pulled dragging you down."

She mentally chastised herself for the terse tone at the end. She couldn't really fault the other girl for grabbing onto her salvation with both hands if she was actually genuine. She'd been just as glad when Taylor crashed into her life and saved the day. Still, the situations had been different she reminded herself. The girl before her was a villain and a thief, and by her own account, largely unrepentant about that fact.

"You don't really like me do you?" Lisa asked sounding amused and resigned all in one. She turned her gaze towards the mirror as she let the older girl place the wig on her, eager to get the full picture of her new costume.

"I like you just fine," Parian corrected, fiddling with the wig in order to make sure it sat well. The pins to make sure it sat still through the rigors of cape life could come later, for now, she satisfied herself with adjusting the wavy curtain of dark brown hair so that it nicely framed Lisa's admittedly attractive face.

And it was true. Although their interaction had been limited so far, she found she didn't really have much objection to Lisa or her personality. She even felt a fair bit of sympathy for her situation. The younger girl was even a little charming in her own way, marred sometimes by her own smugness and the invasive nature of her power.

"I just don't trust you."

"Fair enough," the now brunette said as she eyed her new appearance critically. "Huh," she said thoughtfully, "I never thought I'd make a good brunette."

"It looks good," Sabah agreed.

"The costume is great too," the former villain admitted eying the dark suit and the deep navy trench coat that wrapped around her figure in a flattering manner. It brought to mind some of her favorite movies. "Not exactly a direction I would have headed towards for a hero, but it looks good."

"I spared no expense," was Sabah's truthful reply, a tinge of something in her voice. "And once Chemist makes some more of his impact gel to go with the armor inserts it should protect you nearly as good as it looks."

"That must not have been cheap," Lisa replied slowly, eyeing the other girl carefully.

"It wasn't," Sabah affirmed. "But Taylor wanted to be sure this was done right. I think she trusts you, or at least, she really wants to."

"But not you."

It wasn't a question and Sabah kept her expression as blank as possible under the thinker's scrutiny. She could practically feel the pressure of the other girl's focus as it scoured her, seeking the smallest of cracks to creep inside tear out her innermost secrets piece by piece.

"I want to," she said with a shrug, surprising herself a bit when she realized that she meant it, "at least a little bit. But I won't be blind either," she said firmly. "From a certain light, your situation was pretty shitty. The poor thinker who couldn't catch a break under the thumb of one of the most secretive and powerful villains in the city. Her team in shambles after a tragic miscalculation."

"And in a different light?" Lisa asked, a mocking smirk twisting her lips and a dangerous light in her eyes.

Sabah didn't react to the change.

"Maybe the thinker who's power makes it so easy to make sure things are framed in just the right way had just lost her shield in the Undersiders and was looking to trade up with the new cape on the block. Jiraiya has shown that she has some serious power when push comes to shove, and with your particular thinker ability, it can't have been too hard to make an appealing case. Especially not to someone like Taylor being the way she is," she said, eyeing the other girl carefully.

"The way she is?"

"A good person," Sabah replied.

"If that were the case, then things seemed to have worked out pretty well for me," Lisa noted, not quite able to hide the flinch at the casual mention of what had befallen her former teammates.

Sabah let herself relax a bit at the other girl's reaction towards the mention of the Undersiders.

Friends then, or at least close acquaintances. The cloth using cape staved off the rising guilt from her callous remarks. She had needed to be sure. If Taylor wasn't going to look after herself then someone needed to.

"If it were the case," Sabah agreed. "But like I said, there are many ways to view a situation. I hope that everything you said was true and that you were honest with your intentions when you reached out to Taylor. I like you well enough, and one day I hope that our prospective friendship becomes an actual one. And I hope that you're serious about your second chance here. Not many people get them.

She took a deep breath. She hated this, the way capes sometimes had to act and dance around each other. A lack desire for fighting wasn't the only reason she chose to be a rogue. But as she'd come to discover more and more recently, when it came to Taylor, Sabah was willing to do things she otherwise wouldn't be.

But if you aren't," Sabah said as she flexed her power causing the other girl to choke as the tie cinched uncomfortably tight and the pins holding the alterations to the costume vibrated warningly, "if you're going to end up screwing Taylor and the rest of us over somehow in the future, I'll make sure you regret it."

Holding the former villain's gaze for a long moment she released her power and let herself relax.

"Message received," Lisa said when she finally got her breathing under control, looking at the older rogue in a new light.

The two capes stared at each other awkwardly, unsure of what to say after all that.

"So," Lisa said with forced levity, "what were you thinking in terms of the mask?"

"Chemist helped a lot with it actually," Parian said, more than willing to change the subject. "He went in a bit of an interesting direction. He found some weird cloth I got from my contact in Milwaukee that I didn't know what to do with and must have been inspired."

"Ah, you mean Clothier, the cloth tinker independent."

"Yes," Sabah said in surprise, "how did you know?"

A smug grin flitted over the other girl's face, managing to seem impish despite her still pale and drawn features, "Research," was all she offered.

Sabah rolled her eyes, "Maybe chemist was right after all for your mask."

"What do yo –"

"Hold still," the cloth manipulator interrupted, taking the strange skin toned piece of cloth that had been sitting at the table and slapping it against the other girl's face.

"What the fu –"

"Language," Sabah admonished, spraying the cloth with the bottle that Greg had left for her. She watched, fascinated as the cloth seemed to cling to the skin, shifting and stretching to accommodate Lisa's face leaving a blank expanse of what looked like a normal face only with none of the features. No eyes or lips for visible at all, leaving an unnerving blankness staring up at her. It was strangely intimidating in its own strange way.

"Whoa," Lisa muttered, distracted from her earlier ire as she examined the mask in the mirror. "It covers my whole face but I can see through it as though there's nothing there."

"It should also filter out harmful substances like smoke or gas," Sabah added, resisting an unconscious shiver as the blank face turned to regard her once more. "You just take the cloth and spray it with the chemical like I did and it will adhere to your face easily enough. Just peel it off when you're done and reapply it in the same way for your next outing. Like I said, Chemist had a serious burst of inspiration."

"I like it," Lisa admitted, turning to take in the full look of her new costume. A fine looking dress shirt and tie tucked into an equally fine pair of slacks. The dark navy trench coat wrapped around her, coming in at the waist in a way she could definitely appreciate while at the same time giving her an almost intimidating presence, especially when combined with her new and admittedly a bit creepy mask.

It was a much different look than her old costume which had tended more towards playing up her looks. She couldn't say she hated the new direction though. Just one thing was nagging at her.

"Why did he decide to make the mask blank like this though?"

"Ah," the dark-skinned girl said amused, "he felt people would be less likely to want to punch you in the face if they couldn't see that annoying smirk thing that you do."

The amused comment from the other girl seemed to temporarily deflate the preening thinker who had been looking at herself from different angles in the mirror.

"Seems there's two of you that I have to win over," Lisa said a little ruefully.

"I already like you," Sabah corrected, "mostly. I'm just looking out for Taylor."

"Where is she by the way?"

"Out training her powers or something. I don't really understand how she's doing it though," Sabah admitted, "her summoning seems pretty straightforward to me."

"She can do more than just summon toads," Lisa replied distractedly as she adjusted her wig. "Or rather, the ability itself has more depth than you might think. The toad eye thing she does for example, that eye color change isn't cosmetic, she's summoning the eyes of a toad to use as her own to allow herself to see through her summons."

Sabah blinked at the offhand information on Taylor's power offered by the thinker. She tried to think of the implications of what Lisa was implying. She let go of the thought as her mind went down strange turns of summoned toad tongues coming out of the ground to bind enemy villains and gang members. Not for the last time, Sabah wondered at the bizarreness of her friend's powers.

"And the nerd? What's his deal with me? I don't think I've said more than 10 words to him."

"Well not calling him that would probably be a good start," the rogue cape said drily, just barely able to stop from rolling her eyes. "He's newer at the whole cape thing. I think he might be struggling to see the shades of gray that can sometimes come up in this life. And, he takes the hero thing very seriously, more so than anyone I've met save for perhaps Taylor. He probably just needs time to adjust more than anything. Taylor okayed this whole thing and he won't go against her."

Lisa just hummed thoughtfully as she went back to examining her new costume, absorbing the information but not offering any input of her own.

Sabah was content to let the topic drop. Moving to the side, she grabbed the last item of Lisa's new costume. Walking over to the taller girl, she reached up and settled a dark navy blue fedora with a black ribbon wrapped around the base, a perfect match to the trench coat, onto the former blonde's head, careful not to disturb the brown wig.

"And there we go," she announced satisfied. "Tattletale is dead, long live…" she paused as she realized she didn't know what to call the other girl. "What's your new cape name again?"

"Jury's still out," the former villain said, adjusting the fedora to sit on her head at a jaunty angle. "I've been playing with a few ideas though. How does 'Insight' strike you?"

"A bit on the nose," Sabah replied honestly. "We might not be able to fool Coil about your identity but no need to make it easier for anyone else. Besides, with the way you tend to talk when you're using your power, it might sound a bit more aggressive than you'd like."

"Hmmm."

Sabah had to imagine the frown the other girl was wearing due to the mask but it was obvious in her tone that she hadn't thought her idea would get shot down so easily.

"Well, do you have any ideas?"

"'Question' maybe?" Sabah offered after a moment. "It's what you do," she said in an effort to explain, "You answer questions. And it fits with the whole 50s detective thing we've got going on in your costume."

The now detective themed here cocked her head thoughtfully.

"Or if you don't like that how about 'Acuity'? It's kind of the same as your first choice only it sounds a bit less aggressive and you'll no doubt get the chance to be irritatingly smug whenever the dumber morons you take out have no idea what your name means."

Lisa snickered at the idea even as she played the idea around in her head. "Let's table that for now," she said finally. "Those both could be good, but I don't want to rush into it."

Sabah was about to agree with her when she was interrupted by a large explosion.

A loud whump followed by a rush of neon orange smoke escaping from one the empty bedrooms that Chemist had claimed for his experiments made the source of the noise obvious.

The aforementioned chemical tinker came stumbling out of the rooms, wearing what looked like a repurposed bug sprayer uniform, coughing violently and covered head to toe in a strange orange goo.

"Sorry about," a very disheveled Greg Veder said through choking coughs. "I was working on improvements to my binding glue. It turned out to be a little more volatile than I'd expected it to be," he offered sheepishly to the staring girls.

Sabah stared at the mess a moment before she deciphered what the tinker was telling her.

"You have enough materials to waste on that?"

Greg tried for what she suspected he thought to be a roguish smirk.

It didn't quite work for him, especially not when he was covered nearly head to toe in a strange orange slime, but Sabah wasn't going to be the one to say it.

"The Alliance was very determined to have my rusting agent on their side before they made the big push against the ABB and the Empire. Coil had no choice but to be very generous when I gave him my slightly edited shopping list."

Judging by the satisfied look on the tinker's face Sabah suspected that his 'slight edits' contained quite a bit more materials than he'd needed.

A snickering Lisa only confirmed her thoughts.

"Oh hey," he said, noticing the other girl, "the new costume looks great Parian."

Sabah gave a pleased smile, "I do my best," she said with false modesty and a wink.

"So," Lisa interrupted once she'd gotten control of her laughter at Coil's misfortunes, "how'd that glue thing you were doing turn out?"

Sabah turned to the other girl with a frown. She didn't think that she'd ever heard innocence sound so suspicious before.

Greg gave the former villain a poorly concealed suspicious look. "Good," he said slowly as he shucked off the protective suit he'd been wearing for his experiments. "A few more adjustments are needed though. The binding seems stronger now but for some reason, it's not solidifying instantly like it did in its earlier iteration."

He gestured down to his abandoned suit in explanation, the slime just now hardening into a constricting glue-like substance.

"Yeah that's interesting," Lisa said, "but how does it react with hair?"

Sabah felt a sinking feeling as she began to understand the source of the other girl's earlier amusement.

"The same as anything else really," the chemical tinker replied a little confused. "Why?"

"Hey," Sabah asked, sinking feeling turning to dread, "today wasn't the day you were invited to meet and talk shop with Armsmaster and Kid Win was it?"

Greg visibly brightened at the reminder. "Yeah I can't wait," he said enthusiastically. "Apparently Kid Win even agreed to let me see his workshop. Why do you ask?"

Sabah couldn't contain a sigh as Lisa began snickering hysterically when her feeling was proven correct.

In answer to his question, Sabah pointed to the top of the tinker's head. His suit and goggles had done a wonderful job protecting himself from the stray slime, but unfortunately, his hair hadn't been so fortunate.

Curious, Greg felt at the top of his head to try and find what she was talking about only for his face to rapidly pail when rather than encountering soft curls he instead found himself grabbing at a sticky tangled mess courtesy of his improved super strength binding mixture.

"What the hell am I going to do!?" He wailed frantically, "I'm supposed to leave in less than an hour!"

Sabah was mentally rethinking her life as Lisa's snickers turned to full-blown raucous laughter at the chemical hero's plight. She watched the pair, Lisa leaning over a chair wheezing and Greg's arms flailing around wildly in his panic.

Counting down mentally from 10, she took a fortifying breath and offered the only solution she could.

"I think I have a pair of clippers around here somewhere. Let me go check."

Turning around to leave the room and do just that, Sabah questioned, for what she was sure was not the last time, just what her life had become since a strange toad summoning hero had unceremoniously leaped into her life.

* * *

One more interlude to catch up with Taylor's training time and Greg's little tinker pow-wow and we'll delve into the new arc :)


	37. Interlude 4-d: Networking

Interlude 4.d: Networking

 **Chemist (Greg Veder) – Protectorate Building**

He did his best to not shift nervously as he followed his escort to the tinker labs where he would be meeting with Kid Win, and hopefully, Armsmaster. Feeling a little twitchy, Greg ran his hand through his hair to give himself something to do, wincing when he was met with a rough inch or so of stubble as opposed to his normal blonde curls. Aborting the motion he instead adjusted the tinted goggles that served to hide his identity and hurried after his guide once he noticed that he'd been lagging behind.

Okay, so maybe attempting to get some last minute tweaks in on his new binding agent just hours before his meeting with Brockton's Protectorate tinkers hadn't been his finest idea. But the anxiety had been getting to him and he'd needed to do something to occupy his hands before he'd exploded with nervous energy. With Tattletale occupying Parian's time and no games to play since he hadn't gotten around to hooking up the internet at the base, a little bit of tinkering had seemed like the obvious choice.

And while the logic for that chain of events was rock-solid in his own expert opinion, he really would have preferred not to have been sporting the skinhead look while meeting the heroes who defended the city with the largest Nazi-affiliated parahuman gang in the country.

"Just through here sir," his escort said, a kind, if professional, smile on her face as she gestured towards a very large and very secure looking door.

"You're expected," the PRT employee assured him upon noticing the skeptical glance at the door that wouldn't have looked out of place guarding nuclear codes. "All security precautions are temporarily disabled for your visit. Kid Win is already inside and I'm told eager to meet you. Armsmaster should be along later as well, but he's very busy as I'm sure you can understand."

With a final encouraging nod, his escort turned and left the independent tinker alone.

Greg watched his escort leave uncertainly until she turned a corner before turning towards the intimidating structure before him. He'd faced at least half the parahuman villains in the city, took the plunge and asked for a team up with Jiraiya before he'd known the toad cape was actually Taylor, met some of the finest and most respected heroes his city had to offer and had fought in a citywide gang war.

Yet the thought of the gangly tinker who was the same age as him on the other side of this ridiculous door was giving him pause. Greg mentally shook his head at himself. He did his best to ignore the tingling thrill in his stomach and walked forward, entering an official government sponsored and funded tinker lab for the first time.

Greg just stared, his mind nearly exploding with all of the new and impossible things he could accomplish with just a few pieces of equipment he was seeing in the lab. It made his ramshackle setup at the base look like the chemistry classroom at Winslow. Which, given the standard of education at Winslow was really saying something.

It was incredible.

"Oh hey, you made it!"

Reluctantly Greg tore his gaze from the technical marvels towards the voice that had addressed him. He had a brief double take at the unexpected sight before him.

Practically vibrating in place was who he could only assume was Kid Win. Pale skinned and with straight brown hair, the tinker was wearing normal clothing, a pair of jeans and a graphic tee, rather than his signature red and gold armor.

The only thing that solidified his appearance as a hero rather than any other teen was the fairly basic domino mask on his face and the tablet held limply in one hand with complicated looking schematics for what might have been an upgrade to the hero's hoverboard, though Greg couldn't be sure at this distance.

Greg blinked dumbly at the other hero. This hadn't been the image he'd expected from the Ward's tinker. He gave the other tinker a closer look.

Was he actually taller than Kid Win?

"Chemist right? I was really glad to hear from Armsmaster that you accepted his offer to come check out our labs and do a little collaborating."

Was it him, or did the other hero sound a little nervous?

Feeling a bit silly for his own anxiety Greg nodded his head.

"Yeah, that's right. Thanks for having me, your lab is amazing," he said honestly.

Some of the tension eased out of the Ward as he laughed at that, "If you think mine is something, you should see Armsmasters," the sponsored hero said with a mix of envy and self-deprecation.

"I bet it's really something," Greg mused, unable to help but imagine what one of the premier tinker capes in the country could have at his disposal in his labs.

"It's incredible," Kid Win answered honestly, eyes glazing a bit as he no doubt thought of the things he could make with similar tools. "Anyways," he said, shaking himself back into the present, "do you want to see what I've been working on?"

"Of course," Greg said honestly as the other tinker waved the tablet towards him enticingly. "It's why we're here after all."

"Great!"

The shorter tinker began speaking excitedly as he showed his work to the independent hero.

"I've been working on better stabilizers for my hoverboard. That way I can crank up the speed and make sharper turns without having to worry about falling or anything like that."

"What's the problem then?"

Because in Greg's experience with tinkering, there was always some sort of problem.

"Power," Kid Win said sourly. "The energy required to maintain regular systems, power the new stabilizers, and be able to manage increased speeds is more than my current battery can take and I'm not sure how to go about making one that's both powerful enough and small enough to fit with the board. Half the board is filled with redundancies and fans to keep everything from melting as it is. I don't have much space to work with."

Greg hummed softly to himself as he did his best to decipher the schematics while Kid Win talked. Hard tech wasn't really his thing and he was having trouble understanding some of it but he was getting the gist.

"Well," he said thoughtfully, "batteries aren't really my thing honestly, but I've been toying with an idea that could help a bit."

"Really?" Kid Win asked, eager and curious all at once. "With chemicals? What have you got?"

"I've got this idea for a chemical that'd greatly increase a metals conductivity and melting point. The idea being that you coat the wires with the chem and you'd be able to run more power through whatever you're using much more safely. You wouldn't have to worry about your board melting and that'd free up a lot of space for other things I'd imagine, not to mention it'd be able to handle much more power than before…" Greg trailed off a little uncomfortable under the intense, wide-eyed stare from the other tinker. "What?"

There was a long and uncomfortable pause before the Ward's tinker finally spoke, "You could really do that?"

"Well, the idea is there," Greg said a little unsurely. "I'm pretty confident I could make it work," he said honestly. "I just haven't pursued it really because I can't get much use out of it personally. I don't run enough tech for the investment to be worth it for me."

"That's incredible," the Ward hero said, practically salivating at the idea. "I can see why you didn't do it though, not much use for your chemicals I guess. Has to be hard trying to manage things as an independent tinker," he said sympathetically.

"It can be tough at times," Greg said honestly recalling his earliest days of scrounging for scraps. He shrugged, "but I hit a bit of a windfall recently," he added, thinking of all the material he'd practically extorted from Coil in exchange for the rusting chemical at Tattletales encouragement. "I make do," he said.

Kid Win gave him a bit of a skeptical look but didn't press.

"Tell you what," the Wards hero said, "if you look into the conductivity chemical for me, I'll fund it out of my tinkering budge. "In exchange, I'll take a look at your backpack and gun," he said, gesturing to the aforementioned items, "they're looking a little rough," he said diplomatically.

"Try completely wrecked," Greg responded wryly. "The gang war wasn't kind to my tech. That would be amazing though. They're a bit outside my field so I probably didn't do the best job with them in the first place anyway."

"It sounded insane from what I heard," Kid Win replied, frowning. "I wish I could have helped out. But there's no way that'd happen between my parents and the Youth Guard."

Sensing the other hero's discontent, Greg tried to steer the conversation back to tinkering.

"You'd really be okay with funding my work like that?"

Kid Win's frown cracked into a grin.

"Dude, if it works as well as you think, I might not even have to. Armsmaster will probably make sure you get everything you need to get his hands on some of that for himself."

"Seriously?"

Greg couldn't help his disbelief. That something he'd made could be so desirable to a tinker as skilled as Armsmaster. I didn't really compute. He was just Greg Veder at the end of the day and this was freaking Armsmaster!

"It may not be as much use for you, but for us and the majority of tinkers using hardware, what you're describing is like the Holy Grail man. So what do you say? Do we have a deal?"

"Well," Greg said slowly, forcing his thoughts to retreat from the wonder and disbelief the other hero's words were causing and into comforting science of chemicals and compounds, "I guess I say, let's get to work."

It was about an hour into their work when Kid Win broke the easy atmosphere.

"By the way, what's with the new hairstyle? Bold choice."

Greg cursed and fumbled with the tablet he'd borrowed, panicked, he said the first thing that came to mind.

"It's more efficient?"

He withheld a pained groan at the dubious look the other cape shot at him.

Eventually, the technology tinker shook his head and muttered something about getting along with Armsmaster as he got back to work.

Greg just shook his head at himself.

More efficient?

Who the hell would believe that?

* * *

 **Armsmaster**

"Hello Colin, just the tinker I was looking for."

Armsmaster stopped walking at the sound of the voice. Mind torn from possible solutions to the energy consumption for the computing power required for the predictive software he and Dragon were attempting to develop and perfect in time for the next endbringer attack.

"Hannah," he responded, nodding to his old Ward's comrade. "What can I do for you?"

"Just looking for some updates," she said easily.

"Ah," he said in realization, "you were on patrol during the meeting."

She nodded in agreement. "Has Piggot officially decided what to do with all of the captured capes during the fight?" she asked her fellow hero keenly.

Colin looked at his longtime partner from the corner of his eyes as he thought over his response. "Not officially," he admitted.

"But you can make an educated guess," Miss Militia pressed shrewdly as she walked beside him.

"Bushido will go straight to the Birdcage."

"Let's hope he makes it there this time," The blaster hero said with a little tiredly.

A severe frown crossed his face at the allusion towards the ABB cape's previous escapes even as he nodded in agreement with the sentiment.

"Othala will likely be given some sort of deal in return for aid during endbringer attacks. Her power is too useful to languish in confinement. As for Cricket, Stormtiger, Crusader, and Night, they'll be sent out of state and as far away from Kaiser's influence as possible before they go to the Birdcage."

"That's a bit surprising," Hannah admitted. "I wouldn't think that she'd like doing something like that."

"On paper, the director still has credit for the collars, regardless of the rather extreme circumstances. And unofficially, there's some pressure from the Mayor and higher-ups within the organization who are seeing this as a chance to make a lasting positive impact to the city with some of the highest Parahuman crime rates in the country. They want to make sure that this won't backslide."

"And that starts by making sure Kaiser doesn't get the entirety of his gang back from containment," Hannah said with immediate understanding. A concerned look creased her features, "Losses or no, with Lung and Bakuda gone, he's still the dominant gang in town."

"Oni Lee will be doing his best to keep the ABB together," Colin agreed as they turned a corner, momentarily lamenting the sheer size of their facility, "though how successful he'll be I'm not sure."

"He's not exactly the leader type going from past behavior," Hannah agreed, "and there's also the issue of The Painted Lady."

"Yes," Colin agreed with a frown, thinking of the problematic master cape, "if the last fight proved anything at all it's that she is absolutely lethal. I already had to reassure Kid Win and Clockblocker's parents that the Wards would never be anywhere near her."

"I'm in complete agreement with them," she responded strongly. "The kids have no business being anywhere near someone like that. Still," she added, "they might be safer than most if our potential new recruit pans out."

"Lily," he confirmed, "the sister. With what appears to be an extremely potent combination of striker and thinker powers if the information is accurate."

Hannah snorted, responding with a rare bit of sarcasm, "Given what happened to Lung, I'll err on the side of accuracy." She cocked her head, "You found the girl's name already?"

He shrugged. "It was easy enough once we got confirmation that she is actually related to The Painted Lady. The elder sister is an unmasked cape, it wasn't all that difficult to put it together. It's something to consider if she does become our new ward. We'll have to make sure that she isn't linked to the girl in the video."

"It shouldn't be too hard," Hannah said thoughtfully, "she didn't overtly use her powers on film during the fight, at least not in a way that's noticeable. Right now, most assume that it was Hisako alone that killed Lung." She gave the tinker an inquisitive look, "it's a sure thing then? They're going to agree with Lily's conditions?"

"There's no reason not to. Making sure she stays in Brockton Bay should be fairly easy to accommodate."

A frown curved full lips as the female hero's thoughts went toward their potential ward, "I'm honestly just surprised that she wants to be a hero. Between her sister and being held captive by the ABB for such an extended period of time… well, people have turned villain for far less."

"It's a relief really," he said honestly, thinking about the young girl's apparent powers, "Her power is positively lethal if used incorrectly."

"Will that be a problem for hero work?" Hannah asked, slowing down her walk as she directed a concerned frown to the tinker. "I know I've heard a few concerns with what happened to Lung."

Colin snorted at that. "Normally I might agree, but the situation was rather extreme. Between her imprisonment, the sheer danger Lung represented, and the likelihood that she was acting either in defense of or at the behest of her only remaining family, I think we can rule that out as typical behavior from her unless given further evidence to the contrary.

"That was my thinking as well," the patriotic cape concurred, sounding pleased with the analysis.

"I suppose you would have insight into possessing a lethal power," the tinker said thoughtfully as he considered things from her point of view.

"People had the same concerns about me once upon a time," she admitted with a bland smile.

Colin hummed thoughtfully, "Well, she should be safe enough to be put in the field. I theorize the thinker aspects of her powers will help mitigate any potential risk. We'll have to do testing of course, but…" he trailed off with a shrug.

The gun cape stopped and eyed him shrewdly. Colin mirrored her and stood straight under the penetrating stare, meeting her gaze squarely.

"You're really pushing for this," she said with realization.

"A lot of higher ups are very interested in having her join with us," he admitted.

"Why? Not that I'm opposed of course," she added, "it's always good to have more heroes of course but wh –,"

"You saw what she did to Lung right?" He interrupted.

Miss Militia nodded. "Of course."

"I ran some analysis from the scans I was able to get during the fight. The thinkers concur as well. We have good reason to believe that she could replicate that feat, or something close to it, on an endbringer."

Miss Militia stared at him wide-eyed.

"You're serious?"

Colin nodded firmly.

"That would be –,"

"Incredible," he agreed.

The gun materializing hero looked a little dazed at the thought.

"And her second demand?" She asked finally as she sorted her thoughts. "To leave her sister alone?"

"That will be a bit tricky," he admitted. "Technically, she's a victim as well. Held hostage with her sister's safety. However, she's violent and a murderer. And if the psych evals are right, something of a sociopath. A lot of it depends on what she does next, now that she's free of the ABB. But she's low priority as of now."

"How do you mean?"

"Right now our main concerns are dealing with Kaiser and trying to root out Coil. We can't let the recent fighting distract us from dealing with the snake."

"The mayor wouldn't let us anyway," Hannah opined, "Not that I'm opposed. What he tried to do with Oracle is inexcusable. The fact that he had agents in our own organization as well…"

"Exactly. Not to mention that a large portion of the city is feeling very sympathetic towards Hisako. They admire the lengths she's gone to for her sister."

"Not to mention she dealt with Lung after everyone else failed to touch him for so long," Militia added with a nod of understanding.

Colin grimaced at that but acknowledged the point. "Our focus will be on the Empire, Coil, and making sure Oni Lee fails in his attempt to keep the ABB going. Unless The Painted Lady commits more crime or attacks us, she's not our priority at the moment."

"That will have to be good enough for Lily."

Colin nodded in agreement and resumed his walk.

"Where are you headed anyway," his fellow hero asked, curious now that her questions had been answered.

"Chemist was scheduled to come today for his visit. He should be with Kid Win by now."

"Two teenage tinkers working together unsupervised? Should I prepare an exit strategy?"

"That's why I'm going to meet them now," he responded, a little amused despite himself.

"Speaking of tinkering," Hannah said with a playful quirk of her lips, "have you been working on anything new Colin?"

The Brockton Bay tinker felt a bit of wry amusement at the question rather than the customary irritation when someone tried to pry into his tinkering before he'd perfected it enough to be presented. Distant memories of an overly serious yet gawky girl with dusky skin haphazardly trying to socialize with a socially inept young tinker during their days as members of the first Ward's team ran through his mind.

"Still keeping up this tradition?"

"I can't leave Dragon to be the only one to get you out of your shell," was the amused response. "It'd be cruel to force her to shoulder such a terrible responsibility all on her lonesome."

He snorted at that but didn't dispute what they both knew to be true. "I think I finally managed a breakthrough on my nano-thorn technology," he relented.

"Oh? That's been giving you trouble for quite a while hasn't it?" She asked with surprise.

"It was actually one of the abilities employed by Jiraiya's toads that helped push me in the right direction," he offered. "My scans have trouble with their energy as you know, and it's not exactly the same, but the one known as Gamakichi employed some sort of ability where he combined his strange energy with air molecules to produce an extremely sharp cutting edge. It tore through Lung's scales with ease."

"I'm not really sure what to say about that," the other hero finally admitted after a bit with a little laugh. "Just when you think those toads couldn't get any stranger. Still, I'm glad to hear you've made some progress." She looked down the hallway as the entrance to Kid Win's lab space came into view, "and here's your stop. Sorry for taking up so much of your time Collin. Have fun with the kids."

With a final wave to her former Ward's partner, the gun hero left the tinker to his business.

Absentmindedly he entered the lab, thoughts returning to various tinkering plans as he marched through the lab, two voices drifting around the corner confirming that the independent tinker had arrived on time and was likely in the midst of talks with Kid Win already.

Turning the corner he was pleased to see the two young tinkers deep in a mix of work and conversation. He raised a brow at the closely shaved head the independent tinker was now sporting.

Kid Win, perhaps sharing his curiosity voiced his thoughts.

"By the way, what's with the new hairstyle? Bold choice."

"It's more efficient."

Colin blinked at the unexpected answer thoughtfully.

Interesting.

Mentally putting that thought aside for further consideration later on, he cleared his throat, announcing his presence to the pair.

"Armsmaster!"

The older tinker watched a bit bemused as Chemist shot to his feet, ramrod straight and what appeared to be an aborted salute before settling his hands firmly at his sides.

"It's good you could make it," the elder tinker said. "I hope Kid Win has been treating you well and you're able to see the benefits of working in a fully realized lab setting."

"It's been going great!" Kid Win offered enthusiastically.

Colin listened with unusual patience, fond memories of his own first collaboration session with Dragon running through his mind as the Ward rattled on about their work, possible improvements to the chemical tinker's gun and backpack as well as the chemical tinker's work in chemically treated fabrics for costumes.

"Thank you for the invitation," the chemical tinker offered when Kid Win stopped to take a breath. "It's been great so far."

"I hope you will consider a more permanent visit sometime in the future. We can always use another tinker," the older tinker said honestly.

Colin watched an uncertain frown come across the teenager's face and held back a sigh as he predicted the chemical user's response.

Sure enough, Chemist spoke in confirmation of his thoughts. "Thank you," Chemist said, apparently genuine, "you have no idea how much that means to me. If it was just me, trust me when I say I'd join in a heartbeat. But for now, I'm sticking it out with Jiraiya," he said strongly.

The older tinker frowned but nodded to show he'd heard the firmness of the response. "Consider the invitation a permanent one, should either your or Jiraiya's situation change in the future," was his reply.

The younger tinker practically wilted in relief at the neutral response.

"Be careful," the elder tinker continued, "and if you ever need to, don't hesitate to reach out to the Protectorate for assistance. It's what we're here for."

Chemist nodded. "Thank you sir."

"Before we get to work, I'd like to ask you for a somewhat sensitive favor."

"You're going to be working with us as well?" Kid Win blurted in surprise.

"If you get the chance, you should work with tinkers of differing specialties. Sometimes collaborations lead to new ideas and breakthroughs. At the very least you will be able to gain something of an understanding of how another tinker operates and what you can use from that for yourself."

The young ward looked a little shocked at the uncharacteristically long explanation from the Protectorate leader but nodded in understanding.

"What do you need?"

"To be more accurate it is what a colleague of mine would like. Dragon has asked me to ascertain whether you would be amenable to giving some of your rusting chemical to her for further study. After seeing its effectiveness, she's confident that it could do a lot of good."

Seeing the shocked look and knowing what any typical tinker's response would be to giving up their work, Colin continued, speaking from his memorized list of reasons it would be beneficial for the younger cape to share his work, "it would be highly useful for safely disarming gang members, anti-tinker weaponry, and adding on that, even a possible hindrance to the Simurgh and its proclivity towards making tinker devices. With further refinement and alteration, Dragon could possibly equip the PRT forces with this along with her containment foam increasing their efficiency and effectiveness by –," he halted his prepared speech as the independent tinker raised a warding hand, looking overwhelmed.

Beside him, Kid Win was staring at the independent tinker with disbelief.

Chemist held both of his hands forward palm up. The slots at the palm opened and out popped two larger than usual orange balls, somewhere in size between a golf ball and baseball.

"I don't care about having some special signature move or whatever. If helping Dragon can help even more people, it's an easy decision."

With those words, he handed the surprised Protectorate hero the chemballs.

"Dang dude," Kid Win spoke after a pause, admiration clear, "most tinkers you have to fight tooth and nail to give up their tech. And never for free."

Chemist looked a little awkward under the attention, hunching forward a bit. "I was able to help someone once, and I didn't. Now I can again. So I will," was the simple response.

Simultaneously putting the chemballs into a slot in his armor and beginning preliminary scans, he messaged a confirmation to Dragon and spoke to the young tinker.

"Dragon will make sure that your work helps as many people as it can," Colin told him with confidence.

"Good." Looking a little awkward under the attention, Chemist spoke with a hint of desperation, "so, should we get back to work?"

"Right! Sir, you have to check out the properties of this chem he made," Kid Win said excitedly. "I think it's going to totally solve the power consumption issues for my board."

Interest peaked and thoughts returning to his earlier brainstorming regarding his predictive software, Colin listened intently as a nervous Chemist spoke at length about the potential benefits for his new idea.

* * *

 **Taylor**

Taylor looked at the dented dumpster with satisfaction. At least she'd been able to get one of the new techniques Gamakichi was told her about down. The thought of summoning a toad's tongue to strike her enemies still sounded extremely weird to her, but she'd seen Gama and Kichi crack concrete with the long muscle enough times to know that the summon families signature Toad Whip technique would be extremely useful in the future.

Grabbing her phone to check the time, Taylor noticed that she'd gotten a few messages. Quickly tapping out a reply to Glory Girl and Clockblocker and snorting at the pictures of a gunk covered and freshly shaven Greg pre and post chemical accident courtesy of Lisa, Taylor slipped it back into her jacket.

Back to training.

With an exhausted breath, she refocused on the second technique. Closing her eyes and concentrating, the red-coated hero took stock of her remaining energy.

"One more try then," she muttered. "Well, third times the charm I guess," she said to no one.

With a sigh, she shook out her tired arms and began to concentrate, directing and building the specific amount of energy required for the advanced summoning technique.

Fighting to keep her breath even, she concentrated moving her internal energy into her hands and carefully moved them through a new set of hand signs.

Speed would come with time, right now she had to focus on getting this right.

The process for the more advanced summoning techniques wasn't nearly as easy or instinctual as simply summoning her toads. The energy was slippery for lack of a better word when she tried to direct it in a different manner. It took a lot of concentration and focus to perform the more advanced stuff. She would need to practice this one a lot before it was ready to be used in a fight.

A bead of sweat formed at her temple from holding her energy for such a sustained amount of time as she went through the motions. Finally, at the last seal, she smacked her palm to the ground, panting as the technique fueled itself on her energy.

She watched with wide eyes as the abandoned alleyway slowly faded from view to be replaced by a massive cavern of pinkish red slimy muscle.

"Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind." She whispered to herself, grinning with the realization of her success.

The ability to summon the esophagus of the greatest fire-breathing toad from Mt Myoboku. Taylor watched as the impossibly strong and fireproof muscle slowly constricted as if in response to her words. Eventually, she knew, the walls of muscular flesh would close and completely swallow whoever was unlucky enough to be in the technique, leaving them in the great toad's stomach to be digested.

Taylor shuddered at the thought.

She couldn't imagine ever doing that to an actual person. But it was a great technique for capturing and containing especially powerful enemies.

Gamakichi had assured her that with mastery of the technique came a stranger aspect as well. An illusion to hide the reality of exactly what her enemies were trapped in until it was too late.

Taylor couldn't wait.

A flat voice tinged with curiosity cut through her success like a blade between the ribs.

"Interesting."

Reacting on instinct, Taylor whirled around with her tanto drawn to find herself staring down the unmasked face of Hisako.

The normally disinterested face of The Painted Lady was looking around at her new surroundings. Seemingly unshaken by the sudden change, the older woman looked about with curiosity.

"Uneven and treacherous terrain," she noted clinically as she looked around, drawing her own blade and stabbing it into the muscle, the master cape raised a brow when the blade failed to pierce the wall of muscle. "Extremely tough as well," the tattooed woman mused.

"How did you get here," Taylor demanded tersely, hand aching from the grip she had on the hilt of her blade.

Turning back to the red-coated summoner, Hisako looked at her with a spark of interest. "I was near and you brought me here with you," was her reply.

Taylor bit back a reflexive curse at the answer. She hadn't even noticed. She definitely needed more practice with this technique.

As though her thoughts were an omen, the dark walls began to fade as the technique broke. The combination of inexperience and the surprise of The Painted Lady's appearance was too much for her concentration.

"An exhausting ability," Hisako noted as Taylor panted from the exertion, the previously abandoned Brockton alleyway coming back as the fire toad's esophagus left Earth Bet. "Concentration intensive as well?" she wondered aloud.

Taylor was careful to keep her face neutral as she faced down the other cape even as she wanted to cringe at the clinical manner in which the older woman dissected her technique and pinpointed a weakness.

She was alone, no backup, facing a skilled opponent, and no energy left for her toads. It was hardly an ideal situation. Taylor forcefully reminded herself that the other woman had absolutely no reason to want to harm her after what she did for Lily and spoke, "I assume you're not here by accident. What do you want?

The tattooed cape didn't answer right away, cocking her head thoughtfully as she stared at the toad summoning hero.

"Would you like to have a spar?" She asked finally, fingers drumming a staccato beat on the hilt of her blade.

It was then that Taylor noticed that this time The Painted Lady was wielding a tanto blade of similar style and size to her own rather than the full-length sword she'd seen her with last time. Suddenly sure that the other cape's choice in weapon was no accident and a little curious despite herself, Taylor nodded, ignoring the voice in her head that sounded weirdly like a combination of her father and Gamakichi telling her to have more sense.

Something genuine and hungry broke The Painted Lady's normally apathetic mien as Taylor shifted her stance and brought up her blade. A hungry smile edged her face as her spider tattoo skittered across her cheekbone.

Deciding not to give her an opportunity to ready her defenses, Taylor launched herself at blistering speeds towards the older woman. Aborting her direct forward charge towards the tattooed woman, Taylor transitioned into a diagonal hop past her, slicing as she went by.

Taylor's eyes widened when from nowhere, The Lady's blade interposed itself between hers and sent it sliding away.

Not pausing to let the older woman breathe, she spun around, using her turn to give her strike added momentum, Taylor met the older cape with a punishing downward slice.

Just as easily as before, The Painted Lady swatted her strike away with a negligent blow.

Surprised, Taylor almost lost her positioning and had to hastily deflect a probing strike from The Painted Lady. Doubling down, she let fly a flurry of blows. Her tanto turning into a liquid blur as the blade whistled through the air in a series of strikes and stabs that screamed towards the older woman from impossible angles.

None of it mattered at all.

Each blow Taylor sent was deflected and sometimes even returned her way. The toad summoner sent a river of flashing steel towards the other woman, a torrent of stabs and slashes, each successive attack gaining in speed and intensity.

Hisako stood before it completely calm, an unmovable rock parting the flashing waters with skillful maneuvers with her blade. The only sign of exertion from the woman was the iron muscle of her arm flexing as she defeated the other master cape's onslaught and the ever-increasing smile growing across her normally indifferent face.

In growing desperation, Taylor aborted her stab, turning it into a shuffling trip. Seeing the other woman take the bait, she turned her trip into a hop, launching a powerful side kick from the awkward angle that was speeding towards the other woman with ill-intent.

A minute widening of her eyes betrayed the older cape's surprise as she abandoned the attack. A flash of near impossible speed slammed the tattooed cape's sword sheathe in-between the kick and her vulnerable knee.

Before Taylor even had a chance to wonder at the ridiculous reaction time, there was a flash of silver and suddenly her tanto flew out of her hand. Another flash had the deadly point of The Painted Lady's tanto resting at the hollow of her throat.

Breathing heavily from exertion, the red-coated hero did her best to remain completely still, mind racing through her options should the other woman not be content to leave their confrontation as a simple spar.

The two master capes stared at each other for a long moment. The Painted Lady's face still cracked with an almost natural looking smile. Taylor watched with fascination as the hungry light slowly faded from the older woman's eyes and the smile tugging at her lips began to retreat towards her habitual apathy.

Removing the blade, The Painted Lady nodded at the toad summoner and took a step back, sheathing her blade as she did so.

Scrambling to her feet and scooping up her tanto, Taylor did the same.

"I never stood a chance," Taylor said finally and a little bitterly. The first time she'd been so thoroughly outclassed in a fight from a skill standpoint from anyone aside from Gamakichi. Even her first fight with Alabaster had been more even than that.

"No," the older woman agreed. Not mocking with her even tone and acknowledgment of the younger girl's statement. Simply stating a fact. "You're quite skilled," she offered after a moment.

Taylor shifted, a little uncomfortable with praise coming from this particular woman and not really sure how to respond.

"You've been learning from your toads," she continued. "Primarily from the one who wields a similar blade to you."

It wasn't a question.

The Lady looked at the summoner keenly. "You're skilled," she continued, reaffirming her earlier observation, "more than a match for the average criminal or unenhanced cape. But you haven't been learning for longer than six months. Probably whenever you got your toads."

Taylor tried not to stare at the woman who was making dangerously insightful observations. She could tell all of that from just one spar?

"How do you know they taught me?" She asked in an effort to derail the tattooed cape a little.

"I fought the other blade user you summon," The Lady answered willingly enough. "You're fighting is similar, the kick at the end sealed it. They're teaching you how to fight with a style uniquely suited to their biology. It doesn't always translate to the human body. Had a toad launched that surprise attack on me, I'd be fighting the rest of that spar with a dislocated knee. Your legs lack their power and flexibility," she finished with a shrug.

Taylor just stared, not really sure how to respond but feeling intensely uncomfortable. She forcefully stopped her hand as it tried to drift to take the hilt of her blade in a comforting grip.

"Why did you want to spar?"

"To learn about my sister's rescuer," was the cryptic response.

"And what did you learn?"

"You have some skill. And you train regularly. You have a natural tendency toward the blade."

Taylor just listened as the woman spoke, not really sure how to respond. Because despite the complimentary words, she never varied from her habitual blank affect.

"You're overconfident in your skills," the tattooed warrior continued as though reading from a list.

Taylor bristled a little at the barb but the other woman continued speaking before she could defend herself.

"Even a cursory search on me and my abilities should've prepared you for my skill. I even fought your toad ally. That you were surprised at how I outmatched you just now is arrogance. It has been said that I have a natural tendency towards the blade as well. What you saw just now was the gulf between six months of hard practice and a lifetime of dedication."

It took more effort than Taylor would ever like to admit for her to not overtly react the older woman's words even as she burned with a mixture of indignation and a seething embarrassment. Embarrassment because she could think of no words to defend herself. The worst part was, she thought to herself, was that the other woman wasn't accusing her of anything. Simply stating facts in that dry careless way that seemed to be her normal mode of speech. As if she could care less whether Taylor took heed of her words or not.

Taylor noted the stiff way the other woman was standing and the way she'd closed off now that the fighting was over. She was suddenly very sure that The Painted Lady didn't make a habit of seeking others out for conversation outside perhaps her sister.

"What's the real reason you came here?"

Something that seemed vaguely like amusement passed across the other woman's features.

"To inform you of a few things," was her reply. "First, my sister is in the process of becoming a hero. Joining the Wards," the tattooed woman said. "I think you might have inspired her," the lady said blandly.

Taylor looked over the other woman carefully, trying to gauge the older villain's feelings about her sister joining the ranks of heroes.

"That must put you in an interesting position," Taylor tried.

The Asian woman's eyes narrowed and she stared down the toad summoner. "She can do anything she wants," the master said firmly. Almost proud?

"Why tell me?" Taylor asked for lack of anything better to say.

"Her being a hero means an end to my villain career," The Painted Lady said.

"You're not a villain anymore?" Taylor repeated a little shocked. Could people just decide not to be a villain one day?

"With the threat against my sister gone there is no reason to continue. She wants to be a hero and I won't fight her." The Painted Lady shrugged, "It was getting boring anyway."

Taylor rocked on her heels, unsure of what to say and wondering at the implications behind the news.

"One last thing," the apparent former villain said, reaching into the sleeve of the kimono that constituted as her costume. Her hand came out and a familiar brace of throwing blades was dangling from her fingertips.

"Lily wanted to make sure I gave these back to you. And to thank you again for your part in rescuing her."

"Tell her to keep them," Taylor replied. "She was a natural with them. Put them to much better use than I did." Taylor shrugged a little awkwardly, "Besides if she's going to be a hero, she should have a weapon."

The Painted Lady nodded. "I'll let her know."

Taylor watched a little unsure as the older woman slipped the blades back into her sleeve. Deciding to just go for it, she asked, "If you're not a villain anymore then what are you?"

"I'm not sure yet." The older cape said thoughtfully, "It will be interesting to find out. Regardless, whatever happens, for what you've done for my sister, you can consider yourself off-limits. You will have no conflict with me."

"And the rest of the ABB? Oni Lee?"

The Painted Lady's eerie facsimile of normalcy twisted into something more alive as her lips curved into a hungry grin and an anticipatory light shone through her eyes. Her dragon tattoo chose that moment to wind its snarling visage up her neck and across her face. Nodding once in goodbye to the summoner, she turned around and walked away.

Taylor watched the other woman leave, tense as a bow string. Only when The Painted Lady had turned a corner did she allow herself to ease from her readiness. Her breath released in a harsh exhale and it was only then that Taylor realized she had been holding her breath when that unholy look had formed upon the older capes face. For the first time she seriously considered whether or not a native from Earth Bet could learn how to use killing intent.

Taylor ran her hand through her hair, mussing up the sweat soaked curls. Talking to The Painted Lady had been nothing short of anxiety inducing. Like standing on the edge of a knife and not knowing what was going to happen if she fell. Her limbs felt like lead as the exertion from her spar and earlier training and spar pressed down on her like a weight.

"I think that's enough training for today," Taylor muttered to herself as she rubbed her aching neck.

* * *

 **Oracle**

"You did great today Miss Dinah!"

"Thanks Gamatama," Dinah replied a little shyly.

"Clockblocker had no idea what was coming," the little pink toad continued enthused.

"Well he should have known better than to challenge us," the young precog said with a grin.

"Yes," the toad agreed with a grin, "I've no doubt it will be a while until he's feeling brave enough to challenge us in Mario Kart again."

Dinah grinned in agreement as she stopped in front of the door to her room.

"I thought you were going to meet with Vista for basic drills?"

"I will," Dinah assured her guard toad, "I just want some privacy to ask my questions quickly."

The small pink toad frowned lightly in understanding. "I'm sure everything will be fine Miss Dinah."

"I know. But, I have to be sure," she said a little embarrassed, sinking into a comfortable sitting position. "I don't want anything to happen to the people I care about again."

The pink toads frown turned into something soft and understanding. "Ask then," he said. "But you can't protect everyone, not even with your power," he said firmly and a little sadly.

Dinah took a deep breath. "I know," she admitted. "But I have to do what I can."

"The toad family is happy to know someone so capable is looking after our summoner," Gamatama said finally, relenting a little and watching as his charge closed her eyes and began concentrating on her formidable power,

"Chance that Jiraiya survives the next month."

39.542%

She gasped.

"What's wrong?" Gamatama asked, alarmed at the response from the Ward.

Distractingly waving off the toad, Dinah refocused on her power, trying to narrow down why the numbers were so bad.

"Chance Coil kills or hurts Taylor within the next month."

13.385%

Frowning harshly, she asked another question.

"Chance that the Empire hurts or kills Taylor within the next month."

24.043%

"Not high enough," she muttered with mounting frustration.

"Maybe it isn't one of the gangs," Gamatama offered in an attempt to help, working out what was happening with his charge.

Dinah considered the toad's words thoughtfully. If it wasn't one of the gangs then that meant the danger was likely from out of town. Her pulse skyrocketed as the thought triggered two simultaneous horrible thoughts in the young cape.

"Chance the Slaughter House Nine will visit Brockton Bay in the next month."

8.371%

Dinah let out a relieved sigh. With mounting worry, Dinah posed her final question.

"Chance that Taylor is involved in an endbringer fight within the next month."

93.936%

Dinah stared forward unseeing as the number reverberated through her body like a gong. The crashing realization echoed through her mind like a death knell as she fought to contain her rising panic and figure out what to do.

"Miss Dinah? Are you all right? Miss Dinah!" Gamatama shouted. Concerned, the pink toad prodded the unresponsive girl sharply with a finger making her start.

Goaded into action, Dinah scrambled to her feet, thoughts of meeting with Vista forgotten entirely.

"We have to go," she told him urgently, bolting from the room.

"Miss Dinah?" Gamatama asked confused. He watched the young ward bolt from the room with concern. "Wait for me!" He shouted after her, racing to follow the young human's footsteps.

* * *

 **AN –** Okay the arc is finally done. Last chapter we got a look at the current state of Parian and Lisa so now we get to see what's up with the other half of the group. Greg made some tinker friends and Taylor is advancing with her summoning abilities. We also got a glimpse of what's happening to the villains and the PRT and few other things happened as well.


	38. Temporary Author Note

Just wanted to say this isn't dead. I'm currently going through and editing it all. It's a bit of a thing. I had a bit of a block on how to transition from where I am now in the story to the Endbringer stuff and what to include in the between time. I've mostly worked that out now but I'm gonna keep going on those edits first I think. It feels good to make some progress on it, even if it's not really new stuff.

Edit - Ch 1-7 edited

Edit 2 - Ch 1-10 edited (Ch 10 and 11 merged into one chapter)

Edit 3 - Ch 1-13 edited (4.25)


End file.
